SD Gundam: The Power of Music and Other Things
by Charon the Sabercat
Summary: SD Gundam musical! Shute discovers that he has magic powers! Chaos, crying, and magical frying ensue! IT'S FINALLY DONE! AFTER SIX CHAPTERS, IT'S FINALLY FINISHED!
1. Discovery

The Powers of Music and Other Things...  
  
MUSICAL! Or songfic. Whichever. Chapter summary: Lacroa's alive again and there are TONS of people that Zero wants our friends to meet.  
  
"LACROA!" Zero gasped in amazement. "It's- it's- alive again!"  
  
Shute leaned over the knight's shoulder and surveyed the mostly brown world that was once the blue and gray Lacroa. "Barely."  
  
"Shute!" Zero snapped at the boy, who responded with an airy giggle that clearly said "I'm kidding!". The knight couldn't help but smile and playfully shoved Shute away.  
  
The once-beautiful-then-dead-and-now-alive-again Lacroa was indeed an interesting sight; where there was once stone was now brown dust and a few scattered gardens and shattered houses. Every now and then, there would be a far away blast of horns and a loud POPping sound, but other than that, there was no sign of life. The sky had turned from its previous shade of purple to a happy blue; the sun was still rising low in the sky.  
  
"This is certainly good news!" Baku surveyed the decayed plants and bits of stone. "I think. At least it's alive again."  
  
"At least we know all of the worlds take over by the Dark Axis have been restored." Captain lowered his eye piece and scanned the area. "I am detecting a few humanoid life forms. Zero, is there anyone you would like to say hello to?"  
  
"Is there?!" Zero grabbed the person closest to him (Shute) and began dragging him towards the castle.  
  
***  
  
The castle of Lacroa was probably the only place well kempt in all of the kingdom. The ceilings were so high that they couldn't be seen; the black stone walls were covered in various tartans and plaids, all of them bright and looking new. Scrawled onto the stone walls were various etchings of Talgeese, probably all done by him, too. Loud, jovial music came from all directions, although it, like the sounds outside, was distant and fading.  
  
"KING!" Zero's voiced echoed through the lofty halls. "KING DAVIS!"  
  
Shute hovered near Captain anxiously. "Are you sure we should've come in without knocking?"  
  
"All Winged Knights are allowed in the castle whenever they want," Zero explained. "And since I am the only Winged Knight remaining, they will..."  
  
Baku leaned in towards Captain and Shute. "Could either of you tell him to wrap it up?"  
  
"I don't think so," Captain monotoned.  
  
"No," finished Shute.  
  
"...with open arms. Are you paying attention?!"  
  
Shute jumped and hid behind Captain. Bakunetsumaru made a startled 'eep'ing noise while Zero shot him an evil glare.  
  
A strange voice ran through the halls. "Who's there!?"  
  
It was Zero's turn to jump then. "Woah! That's not King Davis!"  
  
"I won't ask again!" the mysterious voice wavered. "Who goes there?"  
  
"It is Zero, the Winged Knight!" Zero called to the ceiling. "And company."  
  
"Like we're a side note," Baku complained, making Shute giggle.  
  
And there was a deafening BANG!  
  
Captain and Baku both drew their swords and thrust them at the wispy cloud, Zero grabbing Shute and flying out of sword-range. As the cloud settled, a Lacroan man took its place. And not just any man...  
  
His short hair was a shocking gold, which contrasted his pale skin and thin face. His beady blue eyes were a bit unfocused, probably because he was still materializing after being smoke. He wore a flowing blue robe, purple at the shoulders and golden at the hems, a bright red sash tied at his waist. Diamonds and rubies studded his collar. As his robe reached to the ground, it slowly dissolved into swirling masses of smoke, his feet hidden from the world. The magic man floated inches above the ground. In his hand he held an elaborate scepter, as tall as Zero himself and decorated with fine gems and precious metals.  
  
The man shook his head and turned to Zero, who was just putting Shute back on the ground. "A Winged Knight?!" he gasped with surprise. "I believed all of you dead!"  
  
Zero smiled. "I am still alive, Ki- wait." Zero stopped smiling and began to scowl. "You're not King Davis."  
  
The man coughed and looked away. "Well, yes, King Davis is-a-hem." He straightened himself. "I am Prince John, Davis's brother and replacement king until he returns."  
  
Zero cocked his head. "Returns? Where did he go?"  
  
Prince John wiggled his shoulders and once again spoke proudly. "King Davis had to make a crusade to a far away land to get something to restore the kingdom to it's once proud state. He should be back soon."  
  
"Oh, um, alright then." Zero looked to the floor.  
  
"This guy definitely wins the weirdo award."  
  
"Shute, be nice!"  
  
"Bad Shute!"  
  
Giggling.  
  
Prince John turned on his heel and pointed his staff at the remaining three. They jumped, but did not technically react to it. Shute actually smiled pleasantly and waved. "Hajimemashite!"  
  
"Who are they?" Prince John snapped.  
  
"Friends of mine," Zero responded without hesitating. Shute, Captain, and Bakunetsumaru bowed.  
  
"Umm... very well, then!" Prince John grinned. "It's nice to know others of noble upbringing survive this whole Dark Axis event. How would you like to join me and the others for dinner?"  
  
"OO! YEAH!" Shute bounced into the air in joy.  
  
"I'm Huuuuuuuungrrryyyyyyyyy!" Baku whined.  
  
Zero went red in the face and began to sweat. "Oh dear..."  
  
***  
  
Prince John led the four of the Gundam Force through the many hallways of Lacroa castle. "As you can guess, only a few people of the nobility survived the Dark Axis invasion. For the time being, we are all residing in this castle until our numbers improve."  
  
Shute paused, scratching his head. "Wait, that doesn't make sense. Whaddayamean, 'until your numbers improve'? Are you the only humans left in Lacroa?"  
  
Prince John laughed; he had a pretty friendly laugh. "No! No! No! How silly! Zero, where did you get this boy? He's so ignorant that it's funny!"  
  
"HEY!" Shute snapped, flinging his clenched fists to the side. "Who are you calling ignorant?!"  
  
Zero placed him in between himself and Prince John. "Shute, be polite, he's a king!"  
  
Shute's face sank into a frown. "But he called me ignorant."  
  
"Well, you are!" Prince John put on his proud face and began to rant again. "Royalty and simple humans are completely different entities entirely."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Prince John pointed his staff at Shute. "Magic."  
  
A blue glow surrounded Shute, and he began to float into the air! "Wha- Aa! CAPTAIN!"  
  
"SHUTE!" Captain latched onto Shute's arm and tried to pull him down, but he wouldn't budge.  
  
"AA! Witch! Warlock! Magic user!" Bakunetsumaru shrunk down to unbelievable size and hid under Zero's cloak. "Keep it away!"  
  
"Stop whimpering, you cheese-head!" Zero kicked Bakunetsumaru out from underneath him. "You're all embarrassing me enough already!"  
  
Prince John set Shute lightly down in Captain's arms. "People of royal lineage always have magic in their blood. What we're trying to do is bring back the magic."  
  
Shute wiggled so that he was sitting comfortably. "Oh, okay. I understand now."  
  
Prince John's happy face began to sink. "Yes, well... there are some problems."  
  
Captain cocked his head. "Like what?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
***  
  
The Dining Hall; not the dining hall, The Dining Hall. The most elaborately designed and most passionately celebrated estate in all of Lacroa. The ceiling was a beautiful gold, studded here and there with gigantic chandeliers which glimmered like stars. There were no tables; it was more of a coliseum seating, which chairs and tables rising in layers on the walls while jesters and clowns performed magic to entertain the small audience of people. On the far north of the room was the head table where the king, queen, and any of their children would sit, on the floor in between were luxurious rugs and the finest marble, and on the far south, a majestic oaken door. Huge windows stretched from ceiling to floor on the east and west walls, bathing The Dining Hall with the golden splendor of a rising sun.  
  
Prince John waved his staff at the small crowd of blue, green, and gold haired people. "These are all of the royalty that's left in Lacroa. As you can see, there are either far too many men or far too little women."  
  
Captain's eyepiece slid down from his helmet. "There is a ratio of 84 men to 23 women. That leaves about3.6522 males for every female."  
  
"And it just doesn't work that way," Prince John grunted with a slight smirk. "So, we're having a little bit of trou- oh, good morning, Princess."  
  
Zero could have easily jumped out of his armor at those few simple words. He turned on his heel and turned so red he looked like a female Bakunetsumaru. "Princess Aresia!"  
  
Zero's fabled Princess stood about a head taller than him, and almost mirrored Sayla in appearance (just like Zero said!) except for two things; her hair was a green-ish blue, and her face lacked that innocent happiness; instead, the Princess's face was downcast and sad. She wore an elaborate pink gown which stretched down to the floor; she wore her long hair down, sweeping her shoulders.  
  
The Princess looked up sleepily. "Hello, Uncle John." She turned slowly, and she grew a faint smile. "Zero. Thank you so much for saving Lacroa."  
  
Zero bowed on one knee before his Princess. "Princess, please, blessing me with your presence and knowing that you are safe is enough."  
  
The Princess touched one of Zero's helmet wings with her fingertips and kissed his forehead. "Such a loyal knight."  
  
"Princess!" Prince John waved the girl in the other three's direction. "Look at this! Zero brought some others from the other dimensions! What are your names again? Baklava?"  
  
"Bakunetsumaru!" snapped the samurai.  
  
"My name is Captain Gundam," recited the mechanical Neotopian.  
  
The human Neotopian bowed quickly, "I'm Shute! How ya doin'?"  
  
Princess cocked her head curiously. "Why is your hair red?"  
  
Shute looked upward at his little tuft of gravity defying hair. "Um... 'cause I was born with it like that?" Shute tapped it and watched it bounce. "It's not really red, it's more of a reddish brown."  
  
The Princess giggled airily, surprising her uncle. "Oh, Uncle John, he's cute! Are they going to be staying for a while?"  
  
"Are we, Zero?" Captain inquired, his vision focused on the Winged Knight. Zero rubbed his chin.  
  
"I guess so..."  
  
"YEAH!"  
  
***  
  
The Head Table offered a very nice view of The Dining Hall as the Gundam Force saw it. Despite his requests, Captain was placed on the far end of one table, Zero next to him, then Prince John, then Princess. Five more seats had yet to be taken.  
  
"You can sit next to me, Shute," Princess Aresia insisted. "You don't mind sitting at the Head Table, do you?"  
  
Shute shrugged. "I guess not. It's just a table."  
  
Bakunetsumaru nudged Shute's shoulder. "Shute, look! Chicken!"  
  
"Oo, chicken!" Shute sat down. "Can we eat now?"  
  
Prince John ushered Princess into her seat. "Not until my nephews get here."  
  
"There are princes, too?" Zero startled. "I didn't know that."  
  
"I am the oldest of my father's children," Aresia proudly explained. "So, I am the only one in the family that need be worried about."  
  
"That's mean!" Baku noted.  
  
"Yeah, they're your brothers, whoever they are!" Shute continued. "You shouldn't think you're better just because you're older; I know, my dad told me so!"  
  
Princess jut her nose into the air. "Well, My Uncle John said I am the only royal family member worth fussing over while my father is gone," she huffed. "So there."  
  
Baku whispered into Shute's ear, "Stuffy little brat, isn't she?"  
  
"Hai."  
  
And they both began to laugh. Shute leaned far over the table to catch a glimpse of his best friend, Captain. "You doin' okay over there, Captain?"  
  
Captain gave Shute the thumbs-up sign; an unexpected gesture that made Shute laugh out loud, not to the liking of Zero.  
  
"Shute! Mind your manners!" Zero shot him a death glare. "You're in the presence of a king!"  
  
"Then why is he 'Prince John', huh? Ha ha!" This time it was Bakunetsumaru who made the smart quip. One of his eyes went all swirly while the other was "closed" tightly. "Be-da!" Shute giggled uncontrollably.  
  
Zero sighed and directed his attention to the jesters, who were casting illusionary spells of dragons, knights, and ghosts. One of the ghost illusions escaped and hovered over Bakunetsumaru's head, scaring the still laughing Musha Gundam out of his wits. Shute laughed again until the ghost took the shape of a dog; he yelped and hid underneath the table with Baku.  
  
"Shute, are you alright?" Captain asked from waaaaaaay on the other side; the ghost floated to him and took the form of Shute, looking pale and holding his severed head in his arms. He paused. "Whoever's doing this, it isn't funny."  
  
Prince John clapped his hands once. "Oh, that's just a bogart spell. It changes into whatever you fear most! It's quite fun!" Prince John waved his scepter through the approaching cloud, wisping it away.  
  
"Is it gone?" Shute and Baku spoke in unison, still under the table.  
  
Zero and Captain both answered, "It's alright. Come on out."  
  
The Dining Halls doors opened, and in stepped Aresia's three brothers... her three identical brothers...  
  
Shute and Baku looked out from beneath the table. Shute was the first to scream, "Baku, look! IT'S THE TRIPLETS!"  
  
Coah, Doah, and Noah looked to the table, not noticing their friends at first. They wore no Pawn Leo armor or simple brown clothes; their dress was bright and colorful, with each separate triplet wearing a different color. Which one was in what, though, was debatable, but the colors themselves were purple, pink, and red. They wore the banded crowns that Shute had seen them wear when he first saw them; he now knew that it was Noah wearing red, Doah wearing pink, and Coah wearing purple.  
  
The three triplets looked about curiously until Coah pointed to the table. "Look! Over there!"  
  
"It's the guys who saved us from Talgeese!" Noah cheered.  
  
Doah faces snapped into a huge smile. "I knew they'd be back!"  
  
Shute jumped out from under the table, running to his friends as fast as he could (and vice versa). They met right in the middle of the illusionists, the three younger ones overpowering the taller boy and knocking him to the ground.  
  
Noah latched himself to Shute's stomach. "It's you! It's you! You're back!"  
  
Shute laughed. "I've missed you guys so much!" Shute shifted his weight so he could take Coah into his arm. "Sorry I didn't bring any cake, I kinda came on short notice!"  
  
Doah hugged Shute's neck from the side. "That's okay, we didn't really want any."  
  
"Did ya bring us anything else?" Noah asked expectantly.  
  
Shute was about to answer when he heard the royal crowd chuckling. He looked up to see the illusionists casting floating hearts around him and the triplets; Baku was laughing with everything he could muster while Captain smiled, Zero groaned, and Prince John and Aresia fumed.  
  
"Hey! That's not very nice!" Shute spat, casting evil glares at the laughing jesters. "You're ruining one of those sappy moments like they have on sitcoms that nobody admits to liking!"  
  
Prince John shot out of his chair and floated down to the kids. "Listen, Children, why don't you go play outside while I have a little discussion with your friends, okay?"  
  
"Sure!" Shute crawled to his feet. "Come on, triplets, let's go play!"  
  
As Shute bounced away, Prince John gathered the Gundams together. "You're taking care of the boy. Let me tell you a little bit about teaching a child manners..."  
  
***  
  
"So, Prince John said that these are all the magic people left in Lacroa?" Shute asked Noah.  
  
"Yep."  
  
"What about all the normal people?"  
  
"Oh, there are still a ton of those," answered Coah. "They live outside the castle. They're trying to rebuild Lacroa."  
  
"So..." Shute tried to rationalize. "What exactly do they do to rebuild a kingdom?"  
  
"They rebuild all of the villages, regrow the crops, that sort of stuff," said Doah.  
  
"That sounds hard!" Shute rubbed his head. "Shouldn't you magic people be helping?"  
  
"That's what I said, but Uncle John said that magic folk shouldn't associate with non-magic folk." Noah looked away. "I thought it was stupid."  
  
"I think it's stupid too!" said the other twins.  
  
"Me too!" Shute rocked his head back and forth. "All those hoity-toity manner-riddled jerks that think they're better than us. No offense."  
  
"That's okay!" said the twins. Noah then spoke. "We're not technically royalty 'cause we're not gonna get the throne, that's what Uncle John told me."  
  
"Does your Uncle John tell you everything?" Shute snapped.  
  
The triplets nodded. "Pretty much."  
  
A drop of sweat rolled down Shute's forehead. "Ai-ya. So, whadda you wanna do?"  
  
"Let's go play in the Music Room!"  
  
Shute didn't care which triplet said what; the word music jolted to the center of his brain, making him stand straight up and smile brightly. "Music?"  
  
"Is it still working?" Coah asked Noah.  
  
Doah nodded. "The power has been off since Daddy left."  
  
Noah made a face at his brothers. "Daddy told me himself that he would leave the music room on. Let's go."  
  
***  
  
"... the boy acted like a wild animal in front of the guests!" Prince John wailed. "I expected that someone traveling with a Winged Knight woul-"  
  
A streak of fire shot across the roof of The Dining Hall, scaring everyone inside! Suddenly the chandelier's began to glow even brighter, and multi- colored dots of light began to dance across the edges of the room, not unlike Christmas lights. Zero's eyes went wide.  
  
"Who turned on the Central Beacon?" yelled Prince John.  
  
"The Central Beacon?" he looked around. "But, everyone's in here..."  
  
"What happened, Zero?" Bakunetsumaru whimpered, the bolt of fire scaring him.  
  
"That was the Central Beacon, a crystal that provides power to the castle!" Zero explained. "That streak of fire means it's been activated, but only the King-"  
  
"Or someone as powerful as the king," Prince John interrupted. "Come on, to the center of the castle!"  
  
***  
  
Noah gasped. "How did you do that, Shute?"  
  
"I dunno!" Shute looked at his hands, then at the walls, trying to find something to blame for the blast of fire. "I just asked for someone to turn on a light, I didn't do anything!"  
  
The music room was alight with the bright yellow glow of a gigantic diamond hanging from the ceiling. The walls looked as if they were made of dust; there were no instruments, but there were four statues. The statues, however, were of dragons, the largest one directly in front of Shute with another, much smaller (maybe a baby?) one resting on its folded legs. Two medium-sized ones flanked the room. The dragons' scales were large and arranged almost like armor plating; the statues were a glimmering obsidian. They had four legs and long necks, ending it a blunt nub of a head with outstretched, horn-like appendages that Shute guessed were ears. Their wings were stretched out in front of them, acting as a shield to the light of the crystal.  
  
"Where are the instruments?" Shute asked the triplets.  
  
"These are the instruments!" Noah laughed. "These are song dragons! Watch!"  
  
Noah pointed a finger at the largest statue. One of the larger scales on its chest lifted slightly, then slammed back onto its body, making the loud ringing noise of a gong!  
  
Shute's jaw dropped in amazement. "WOW! Let me try!"  
  
Shute pointed his finger, picking a scale within his own mind. As it played in his head, it echoed through the scales of the song dragon statue, this time with smaller scales along its side sounding like church bells. "THAT'S SO COOL!"  
  
"Isn't it?!" Noah laughed. "Do you know a song we can do?"  
  
Shute thought for a moment. "Oh, there are so many!" He moaned it thought. "Oh, I know! Do you guys feel like dancing?"  
  
"YEAH!"  
  
"Where's a window?" Shute began scrambling around the room, looking for a window. "I need to see if any peasants are nearby."  
  
"There's one behind this statue," said a very confused Coah. He pointed to one of the medium statues, which Shute immediately shoved himself behind. The window, unfortunately, was only a little slit in the wall. But as he peered through it, he saw a saw a small collection of peasant men, women, and children working in what looked like the stables.  
  
"Perfect!" Shute chirped. "Aw, but they could never hear the song from here, the window would have to be bigger..."  
  
But as he spoke, the window actually began to stretch wider and taller until the entire wall was practically gone!  
  
"THIS PLACE RULES!"  
  
The peasants looked upwards at the screaming, waving boy! He wormed his way to the other side of the dragon statue. "Hey, peasant people! This is for you!"Shute pointed to the smallest song dragon and-  
  
***  
  
Shute: Oh, the will sing of an Lacroan King  
  
A thousand years from now,  
  
And not because he passed some laws  
  
Or had that lofty brow.  
  
(One song dragon lowered its tail and let the peasants climb into the music room. They stared at Shute in amazement and wonder.)  
  
While bonny good King Davis leads  
  
The great crusade he's on,  
  
We'll all have to slave away  
  
For that good-for-nothing' John!  
  
(The peasants nodded in agreement and clapped in rhythm.)  
  
Incredible as he is inept,  
  
Whenever the history books are kept,  
  
They'll call him the phony king of Lacroa!  
  
Peasants: A pox on the phony king of Lacroa!  
  
("How the-?" Shute looked at the walls in wonderment; the words to the song were scrawling themselves into the wall like a child scribbling words into the dirt with a stick. "THIS PLACES RULES TO THE SECOND POWER! Noah, Doah, Coah, you do this one!"  
  
The triplets grinned and began to sway in time with the song. Crude stick figures drew themselves onto the wall, miming the words that the triplets were singing.)  
  
Noah: He sits alone on a giant throne  
  
Pretending he's the king!  
  
Coah: A little tyke who's rather like  
  
A puppet on a string.  
  
(Doah threw himself to the ground and began flailing his arms around.)  
  
Doah: And he throws an angry tantrum  
  
If he cannot have his way!  
  
Shute: And then he calls for Mum-  
  
(Shute leaned against a song dragon statue and began sucking on his thumb.)  
  
Noah: While he's suckin' his thumb.  
  
Doah: You see-  
  
Coah: He doesn't wanna play.  
  
(The peasant men, women, and children laughed uproariously. Even the statues seemed to shake with suppressed snickers. Shute sucked the air out of his mouth and yanked out his thumb with a humorous POP.)  
  
Shute: Too late to be known as John the First!  
  
He's sure to be known as John the Worst!  
  
Peasants, Triplets, and Shute: A pox on the phony king of Lacroa!  
  
("Lay the country on me, song dragon!"  
  
The smallest dragon began to flap its wings violently, making the sound of a plucking guitar. Shute cheered in excitement, the music giving him an energy unimaginable!  
  
"Dance with me, laddy!" A rather short peasant woman grabbed Noah's hand and began doing a fast jitterbug-ish dance with him.  
  
"Do it, Coah!" Shute shouted.  
  
Another voice screamed from behind him. "I'm Coah!"  
  
Shute blushed. "Oops."  
  
The dragon statues began to stand up on their feet and dance as if alive, their mouths open and blowing out sounds of horns and whistles! Shute danced and bounced along to the music; he normally HATED singing in front of an audience, but this barely felt like a judging crowd! This was more like singing Christmas karaoke with his cousins!  
  
A tall peasant person jumped into the center of the room. He adjusted his tunic and took a deep breathe.)  
  
Peasant man: While he taxes us to pieces  
  
And he robs us of our bread,  
  
King Davis's crown keeps slippin' down  
  
Around that pointed head!  
  
(Shute wrapped one arm around the tall peasant man's middle.)  
  
Shute: Ah! But while there is a merry man  
  
In this guy's wily pack,  
  
(The man began to blush.)  
  
We'll find a way to make him pay  
  
And steal our money back!  
  
Coah: And the minute before he knows we're there-  
  
Noah: I'll go and snatch his underwear!  
  
(Noah held up a pink shirt. A shirtless Doah snatched the shirt out of Noah's hands, his mouth angry but his eyes happy, and went behind a song dragon to change. The people began to clap and cheer.)  
  
Shute: The breezy and uneasy king of Lacroa.  
  
The snivelin', grovellin',  
  
Measly, weasly,  
  
Blabberin', jabberin',  
  
Gibberin', jabberin',  
  
Blunderin', plunderin',  
  
Wheelin, dealin'  
  
Prince John, that phony king of Lacroa!  
  
Peasants, Triplets, and Shute: YEAH!  
  
***  
  
Shute had just grabbed a young girl's hands and started spinning her around when he suddenly slammed into one of the statues. "OW!" He put his hands on his bruised head and rubbed it. "Itai..."  
  
"YEEP!" The girl's terrified cry shot through Shute's ears; in fact, from the sound of it (his eyes were twisted shut), the entire room was going into a panic. Shute didn't realize what was going on until a Gundam's hand clamped down on his shoulder.  
  
His eyes flung open to see an EXTREMELY angry Zero looking down upon him, even though it was Captain's hand on his shoulder. Prince John was standing behind Zero, wringing his staff in anger. "Oh, crud!"  
  
Noah hurried forward. "Don't punish him Uncle John!"  
  
"It's not his fault that the peasants came in here!" Doah shouted.  
  
Coah nodded. "Yeah, they were the ones who were singin' it, Uncle John! They made him-"  
  
"Guys, don't cover up for me!" Shute snarled. "That'll only get all of us in trouble!"  
  
"You BET you are all in trouble!" Prince John pointed the staff at Shute's nose. "Such rebellious racket ringing throughout the entire kingdom; if you were a citizen of Lacroa, I'd have you arrested for treason!"  
  
"But you said to play outside!" Shute defended the triplets, going against what he had said to them. A soft squeeze from Captain's hand gave him a quick surge of confidence. "Don't punish them sir, it's me who started the song! I brought the peasants in here and everything!"  
  
Zero shooed Captain away. "Shute, I'm very disappointed in you. If you don't get your act together, we could just drop you in the Realm of Faerie until we need you and not let you come with us at all."  
  
"Yes, sir. I understand. I'll be good." Shute lowered his head in shame.  
  
Prince John gave Zero a hard whack on the shoulder with his scepter. "NO! That's not how you teach a boy how to behave! Watch!" Prince John went to whip Shute smartly across the face with the stave in his hands; as soon as the staff made contact with Shute's skin, a jagged bolt of electricity shot from his cheek, through the scepter, and into Prince John!  
  
The surrogate king stumbled backwards while Shute rubbed his tingling cheek. "OW! That hurt, man!"  
  
Captain wrapped his arms around the boy while Bakunetsumaru rushed forward to make sure that it hadn't hurt him. Zero hovered backwards, his eyes wide and his face pale.  
  
"It's only a small burn," Baku told Captain, examining Shute's cheek. "Nothing serious."  
  
"Good." Captain released the auburn-haired one unwillingly.  
  
Prince John shoved the Gundams aside, the triplets cringing behind. "You- how- come here!"  
  
Prince John grabbed Shute by the wrist and pulled him out of the Music Room, the Gundams (all but Zero) confused and afraid for the boys well being. "There is something definitely wrong with you, boy! As Maana as my witness, we are going to find out just what!"  
  
And all this, from the side of the doorway, unnoticed and unacknowledged, the Princess of Lacroa saw.  
  
What happened with Shute? What's up with Prince John? Will my BROTHER SHUT UP long enough for me to UPLOAD the stupid CHAPTER?! Will my fan girl be upset that I'm putting up a new SD Gundam story when I've got other fanfics I should be working on? Did you know I have a fan girl? All this and more in Chapter 2! 


	2. Magic Tests

The Powers of Music and Other Things...  
  
The musical continues! Chapter summary: Shute and the triplets go through a couple of tests to find out just how magic they are. No song in this chapter, I couldn't find one that fit.  
  
Captain, Bakunetsumaru, and Zero watched as Prince John floated across the throne room, Princess Aresia tripping after him faithfully. Shute, Coah, Doah, and Noah all stood in a little line behind him, standing like obedient little soldiers. Shute shot Captain a glance from a little ways away; Captain gave him a "bravery smile", relieving the boy of some building tension.  
  
"I've been meaning to do this with the triplets for a while now," said Prince John, moving from his throne to the four boys standing before him. "Seeing the... Odd traits that this little whatever-it-is has shown, I've decided to do this with... Um..."  
  
"Shute." The eldest boy hissed with a tone of disdain. Prince John literally waved off the comment and stepped forward.  
  
"Yes, that name. I've decided to test you alongside my nephews for magic."  
  
"You think Shute might be magic?!" Zero jumped, brimming with excitement, his hands clasped. Baku and Captain had very different reactions; they both jerked violently backwards, Bakunetsumaru showing his usual fear of the paranormal.  
  
"It's a big maybe," said the substitute king. He pulled a small crystal the size of a taco out of his sleeve. "This is an essence crystal. This proves whether you have magic powers within you and how powerful it is, but it does not tell us what it does. Are you following?"  
  
Coah's voice faltered. "Uh..."  
  
"Just say yes," Noah nudged his brother. "Keep us out of trouble.'  
  
"Okay!" Doah stood at attention. "We're good!"  
  
"Alright, then, we-" Prince John stopped suddenly. "You're... Good?"  
  
Doah pointed to Shute. "I heard him saying it."  
  
Shute shrugged in defeat. "Guilty as charged."  
  
John sighed and handed the crystal to the boy on his farthest left; Noah. As it sat in his hands, it eventually began to shine a dim blue and brighter until it was glittering like the moon on a clear night. He barely took notice of the warm sensation in his palms. "It's glowing!"  
  
Shute applauded, prompting Coah and Doah to do the same. Prince John shot them a threatening glare and snatched the essence crystal away from Noah. "There's no need to applaud. Noah may have magic, but it's very weak. We'll move on to Coah."  
  
Shute frowned and looked downward. "Bully."  
  
Coah was the next to palm the strange gem; it too glowed, taking no time to warm up as it did with Noah. However, its light was just a bit lighter than Noah's, and its surface was cold to the touch. Coah sighed and put the crystal back in his uncle's hand. "Sorry, Uncle John."  
  
"Don't apologize, Coah," Shute whispered. "It's not your fault."  
  
"Quiet!"  
  
Doah, a bit jumpy after his uncle snapping at his brothers and Shute, was almost afraid to take the gem; "Uncle" John had to force it into his chest. Doah was in for a surprise because although it took a minute, the light shone so brightly that it nearly lit up the whole room! A sharp tingling ran all the way up his arms and into his shoulders. He could barely squeeze out his joyous laughter as everyone in the room (minus you-know-who) began to clap for him.  
  
"Good job!" he heard Zero cheer. Doah blushed in his ears.  
  
"Aw, shucks."  
  
"Very good," Prince John actually smiled as he took the gem from Doah, and he meant it! He patted his nephew on the head. "There's a good Doah." He turned to the last one, Shute. "And now for you."  
  
Shute gulped and held out his hand. Prince John dropped the gem into Shute's open palm-  
  
FLASH! As soon as it made contact with Shute's skin, it burst into a light brighter than the sun! Shute held it for a few seconds, trying to shield it from his eyes but failing; Bakunetsumaru and the princess were screaming. He panicked and threw it to the floor, recoiling backwards. The triplets were all huddled into each other, cringing in fear. Bakunetsumaru was his usual bug-eyed scared-y-self, Zero and Aresia copying. Captain had his hands up from apparently trying to shield himself. Prince John had conjured some kind of glowing ball around himself and was powering it with his staff.  
  
"YIPE! Sorry! Ididn'tmeanforittodothat!" Shute bowed to Prince John hurriedly. "Gomen nasai!"  
  
"YEAH!" Coah clapped loudly for Shute. "Go Shute!"  
  
"Here here!" Noah and Doah joined in their applause, along with all of the Gundams. Captain whistled his admiration, making Shute blush.  
  
"What- how did- you, boy!" Prince John picked up the essence crystal. "Okay, so you have a lot of power. What matters is what the power does. Next test!"  
  
The boys cheered and ran out of the room, the Gundams following. Princess Aresia shuddered, a tight feeling welling up in her chest, but she shook it off and followed her uncle without thinking.

&&&

The prince led them next into a small room with nothing but a few windows, a low ceiling, and a huge pile of sand.  
  
"I remember this test!" Zero whispered into Bakunetsumaru's ear. "This is the test I passed! I'm a natural wind elemental."  
  
Baku raised an eyebrow in a way that he didn't really, but it still looked like he did. "And that means..."  
  
"Well, all of the magic you see me use was taught to me; they're spells anyone could use. But as a wind elemental, I can do wind-based spells without reciting anything. It all comes naturally."  
  
"Ooooohhh.... Kaaaaay." Baku looked the other way. "That explains all the prissy tornado spells that do absolutely nothing-"  
  
"WHAT!? YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
Shute looked away from the fighting and snuggled his face into Captain's arm. "Captain, I don't trust this place. I'm scared."  
  
"Don't be. I'm right here." Captain nuzzled Shute's cheek with his mouth plate. "There's nothing to worry about."  
  
Princess Aresia, seeing this, suddenly felt a jolt of jealousy; she didn't know where it came from, and it scared her. She thumped her chest and pretended to cough, covering up her blush.  
  
"Okay..." Shute noticed that the triplets were hovering especially close to him and Captain. "Are you guys okay?"  
  
"Uh...." they all hummed in unison.  
  
Shute wrapped an arm around Noah's head and pulled him into a hug. "Captain says we've got nothing to worry about."  
  
"Do you see that pile of sand over there?"  
  
The three boys walked forward and looked at the large pile of sand in the middle of the small room. "Yes."  
  
Prince John pointed to the pile. "I want you to concentrate on that sand and picture the wind blowing it all away."  
  
"Okay!"  
  
"I'm not finished!" the prince growled. "You have to go one at a time or else we don't know who did what! Noah first!"  
  
Noah bowed and stepped forward, standing before the sand dune. He stared at it intently for a minute or two before backing away. "Nothing happened."  
  
"Then you're not a wind element. Come back over here." Princess Aresia gave her poor brother a pat on the head and watched as Coah went forward. He shivered and looked down towards the floor.  
  
"Coah?" Prince John tapped his scepter against the floor. "Come on, Coah, let's hurry it up!"  
  
"It's okay, Coah," Shute interjected. "It's not like we're gonna laugh at you if you get it wrong!"  
  
"You're among friends!" Baku reminded the small boy.  
  
Coah smiled weakly and pointed his hands at the sand dune. His small face twitched in concentration, but not even the smallest breeze filled the hallway. "Aaah!"  
  
Coah ran into Shute's stomach in anger and gripped his stomach tightly, not letting go. Zero rubbed Coah's back. "Shh shh, it's okay."  
  
"But I wanna be magic!" cried Coah.  
  
"You are magic, Coah, you're just not a wind elemental," Shute tried his best hand at comforting his friend. "Or whatever your uncle said."  
  
"We're still at the very beginning of the magic tests," Zero whispered softly. "It's all right."  
  
"COME ON!" Doah stomped to Shute's stomach and, again, latched onto him and wouldn't let go (ever been around one of those clingy 7-year-olds? It hurts after a while (rubs ribs). "I didn't get it either!"  
  
"Maybe it doesn't run in your family," Shute suggested. "Like I've got this thing my hair does-" He prodded his tuft of gravity-defying hair. "But my sister doesn't."  
  
"Shute! It's your turn!" Prince John poked Shute sharply in the middle of his shoulder blades. "Get!"  
  
"OW!" Shute stumbled forward, rubbing the stinging spot in his skin where the scepter had touched him. "You don't have to zap me, geeze laweeze!"  
  
Shute sighed and pointed his hand towards the pile, as he did when the hero did something magical in that movie he watched. He ignored the inquiries from the annoying king-while-the-king-was-out and concentrated on the air around him, imagining a huge invisible fan pushing the air towards the sand-  
  
The sand suddenly jutted forward in a huge gale of wind, curling back along the back wall and curving back towards Shute and the others! Shute gasped and, thinking so fast that he didn't realize it at the moment, curled the wind back around and around until he had created a self-contained tornado within the room.  
  
Zero's eyes were wide in amazement; Baku couldn't be seen as he was hiding behind Zero. Captain was staring in amazement while the triplets were yelling about how unfair it was that Shute had cool powers and they didn't. Princess Aresia had her hand held over her mouth, and Prince John...  
  
He was fuming.  
  
"I TOLD YOU TO BLOW IT AWAY, NOT MAKE A BLEEDIN' SHOW OUT OF IT!" He smacked Shute away repeatedly with his scepter and tamed the raging tornado, gathering the sand in a tight ball and placing it against the wall of the room. "Have to make a spectacle out of everything don't you!?"  
  
Shute paid no attention; he was too busy getting a coddling from Captain, who was making sure he wasn't burnt seriously. Prince John growled and enveloped Shute in a blue magic field, pulling him away from Captain Gundam. "This test isn't over! You still have to move the boulder!"  
  
Shute twitched uncomfortably in midair. "Boulder?"  
  
"Oh, there's a big boulder in the middle of the room!" Coah pointed out.  
  
Prince John threw Shute down at the foot of the boulder. "You have to try and move it."  
  
As the triplets rushed down to take their turns, Captain turned to his fellow Gundams. "I am getting annoyed by Prince John's behavior."  
  
"You're what?" Baku mumbled.  
  
Zero nudged his friend. "It's because he's hitting Shute." The Winged Knight address Captain Gundam. "Look, people are rarely more than one element; Shute will fail this test and we can leave Lacroa, if you wish."  
  
Captain looked to the floor. "I do feel like nothing's really getting down here."  
  
"Are you sure you'd have to leave?" Aresia interrupted, lifting her skirt a bit so she could walk. "I mean, Shute would have to stay here to train."  
  
"Train?" Captain looked at Baku, hoping he would know. The samurai Gundam shrugged.  
  
"And what of you, Zero?" the princess asked again. "You were away from home for two years! Wouldn't you rather stay?"  
  
Zero felt the guilt rushing over him. He turned his eyes away. "Um..."  
  
"SHUTE DID IT AGAIN!"  
  
Captain turned about quickly to see not Shute, but the boulder, glowing with a magical blue light. Shute too was illuminated, as well as ecstatic. He was giggling airily, butterflies running livid in his stomach. The triplets were clapping, Prince John was once again livid about being a show off, and Aresia was blushing again.  
  
She was barely able to squeeze out the words "Such... Powerful..." before Baku pushed her out of the way, ran up to Shute and smacked him on the back. "THAT'S TWO! Zero thought you'd fail this test, but you proved him wrong! Omedetto!"  
  
Despite being slapped by a Gundam (which hurts), Shute kept his concentration and kept the boulder in the air. Along with that, he blushed his thanks. "Domo." He suddenly felt water against his feet. When he looked down, he saw that the entire room was suddenly two inches deep in water. "YIE!"  
  
"GAH!" Baku grabbed Shute's arm and pulled him to the far wall, where the rest of the group was pushed up against. Zero held the princess in his airs so she would not get her gown wet; the triplets were all bunched together. Captain reached out to Shute and pulled him into his arms.  
  
"What's going on, Zero?" Doah asked the blue knight.  
  
Zero shook his head. "I don't know! I never made it this far!"  
  
"You've opened up an underground stream by moving the boulder!" Prince John explained. "You now have to find a way to keep the water from drowning you!"  
  
"That's it?!" Shute found he needed to shout to make himself heard; the water was rushing in at an alarm rate, as it was now at his knees.  
  
Coah, Doah, and Noah began to panic. "We don't know how to swim!"  
  
"Do something quick or you'll drown!" Prince John quipped.  
  
Bakunetsumaru gasped. "Joudan janai!"  
  
The triplets stood on tiptoes to keep their heads above water. Coah squeezed his eyes together as the water reached his mouth. "Prince John, help, please!"  
  
"You're helping yourself!" he answered back.  
  
Coah's eyes shot open. "Huh?"  
  
He gasped (happy that he could breath air) because the water around him and his brothers had magically been pushed back! They were sitting in a physics defying "crater" in the water! "Did I do that?!"  
  
Shute cheered. "That's all you, Coah!"  
  
"There's no time to be happy now!" Prince John floated above water level. "You others try, now! We don't have forever!"  
  
Noah and Doah reached out their hands and tried to stop the water, but they once again failed. Shute dunked himself underwater (it was at his neck now) and held out one hand. It moved smoothly back towards the other side of the room, forming a wall of water that was slowly rising higher and higher.  
  
And so Shute sat there wet while the others ran up to investigate the water. He breathed deeply and tried to concentrate, because for whatever reason, this was harder than anything else he had done at this point. He really had to think about what he was doing.  
  
"Uso darou konna... Masaka..."Baku poked the wall of water and watched it ripple. "SUGOI!"  
  
"This thing is sooo cool!" Noah splashed the water wall, hitting all of his siblings. "Congratulations, Shute!"  
  
Prince John noticed that the auburn-haired one was starting to sweat despite his being wet already. He waved his hand and ordered the water back into the stream, placing the boulder and the sand back where they belonged. "Very... Good, Shute, my boy. Shute?"  
  
He had fainted.

&&&

"This is stupid, making him take more tests like this!" Bakunetsumaru called out to Prince John. "He's tired! Let him rest!"  
  
"Daijoubu." Shute rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'm okay..."  
  
"I know a thing or two about children, Baklava, and I think Shute can stay alive for the rest of the magic tests, thank you very much."  
  
Bakunetsumaru's eyes twitched in anger. "Bakunetsumaru..."  
  
Prince John cupped a hand to his ear. "What was that?"  
  
"BOKU NO NAME WA BAKUNETSUMARU DESU!"  
  
Shute yawned and sat down against Captain's leg, the Gundam's hand resting on his hair. The triplets handed Shute a candle. "Dream candle?"  
  
Captain cast his gaze downward. "What is a dream candle?"  
  
"You sleep with it next to your bed, and it burns the nightmares that try to get into your soul," Noah explained.  
  
"That sounds like a night light." Shute stared at the candle flame. "Pretty..."  
  
"What, the candle?" Coah studied the crude candlestick holder and lumpy purple candle. There was nothing special about it.  
  
"No, the fire." Shute leaned in closer. "I went to a psychiatrist when I was younger, and he classified me as a pyromaniac."  
  
The three boys stared dumbfounded. "Uh..."  
  
Captain felt laughter tugging at his throat. "It means he's crazy about fire."  
  
"I had a cousin who set a tire on fire once," Shute remembered. He kept staring at the fire, watching it twist itself into odd shapes. "He got arrested."  
  
"Why's the flame going all weird?" Doah asked.  
  
Shute just then noticed that the fire had stopped moving entirely; it was light a Christmas light, completely still. It was like you could poke it and knock it off the wick. As he pictured it in his head, the fire tilted sideways until it was parallel to the floor! The triplets jumped.  
  
"Yeepes!" squealed Coah.  
  
"UNCLE JOHN! Shute's doing weird magic stuff again!" Doah shouted.  
  
"Lemme try!" Noah held his hand on either side of the fire and squinted. The flame began to twist itself into a knot. "Cool!"  
  
"Wait, watch!" Shute wiggled his finger twisted the fire into a tight ball. Two small strings of fire shot out from the sides and formed circles around the central sphere, orbiting it in a familiar fashion.  
  
"It's my Soul Drive!" Captain interjected.  
  
"Yep!" Shute and Noah clapped their hands in sync and took turns forming the flame into different shapes.  
  
Prince John walked away from his argument with Baklava (punch OW!)- I mean Bakunetsumaru, sorry!, and floated towards the boys with a candle in his hand. "Okay, boys, now I want you to..."  
  
And that's when he noticed that Shute and Noah were prodding the flame of the candle into the shape of a sheep. A drop of sweat rolled down his head. "To come with me to the next room..."

&&&

"I like this room a whole lot better than the other ones," Doah told his sister. "It's a whole bunch bigger."  
  
Aresia nodded vacantly, not responding to her brother. Doah sighed and walked into the middle of the room as he was instructed by his uncle. This room, unlike the sand-boulder-water room, was very big and spacious, but still without many windows. A large protrusion in the wall hinted to the fact that a chimney resided in the opposite room. Shute could here the birds whistling outside; oh man, did he want to go outside!  
  
"Are we almost done here?" shouted the young boy. "'Cause I wanna go outside and play!"  
  
"That depends," Prince John shrugged. "This is a test of raw magic power. Defend yourself!"  
  
"Protect yourself?" Shute looked down to the triplets, who shrugged and made "I dunno" noises.  
  
It didn't take long for him to figure it out, though, because not soon after a sharp sword shot out of the ceiling and zinged past his back!  
  
"YIE!"  
  
"AAA!" The triplets dove into each other's arms and cowered in fear. "Evil flying sword!"  
  
Captain lunged forward, his hand on his beam rifle, before Zero grabbed him by the shoulders. "Captain, no! He has to do this on his own!"  
  
"I agree fully," Prince John chuckled. He watched as the curved saber began to chase Shute. "Also, it's very entertaining."  
  
"This isn't funny!" shouted the auburn. "Somebody help!"  
  
The sword got close enough to touch his back; he panicked, turned around, there was a flash of light,-  
  
And the sword was gone. Shute was standing there with an outstretched hand, his palm glowing and his face pale. He shuddered in fear. "Please tell me I'm dreaming now..."  
  
Captain jumped down and pulled Shute into his arms. "Are you okay?"  
  
Shute curled into a ball at Captain's feet. "I'm turning into a character from Dragonball Z..."  
  
The little boy started to sniffle as the other two Gundams joined him at his side, the humans keeping their distance. Prince John wrapped a thin hand around Shute's shoulder. "There, there, I didn't mean to scare you that much. Come with me, I'll let you rest while my nephews take the rest of the magic tests."  
  
"Thank you..." Shute let John help him up and lead him (well, drag him) to the chimney section of wall. Shute sighed and slammed his back onto the wall, hoping to drift off into a welcome sleep. The problem came when his back felt no wall behind it.  
  
From Bakunetsumaru's point of view, Shute simply disappeared into the stone as if it were fog. It was about that time that a little ditty went through his head, and this went a little something like this:  
  
"AA! SHUTE-SAN! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHERE'D HE GO?! I KNEW YOU COULDN'T TRUST MAGIC USERS! I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!"  
  
"SHUT UP!" Zero whacked Baku on the back of the head. "That's another magic test!"  
  
Doah knocked on the wall; it seemed solid enough. "How come I'm not going through?"  
  
Noah slammed his back into the chimney wall while Prince John narrated. "This test shows whether or not you can use magic to manipulate your own body. The wall triggers a response that makes his body pass through the wall."  
  
Aresia nodded in agreement. "I had a cousin wh-"  
  
"Ah ah ah, seen not heard, Aresia." Prince John tapped the chimney wall with his scepter; it opened into a small doorway with stairs. "Come on, this is the last test."  
  
&&&

This room was small and dark, with a wide arch leading into another dark space. A fence stood between the boys and the archway. The Gundams, Prince John and Princess Aresia watched from a high balcony above. "This is the last test. Now I must warn you, this one will scare you a little. But as long as you don't touch Camille, she won't touch you."  
  
"Who's Camille?" asked Noah.  
  
"I'll give you a hint; just keep your ears open!" Prince John pushed the Gundam's slowly backwards. "And remember, don't touch Camille!"  
  
"Who's Camille?" Shute asked Doah.  
  
Camille "introduced" herself abruptly; she jumped out of the archway, ramming herself against the fence, held back only by a chain. Camille, evidently, was a giant warg (Lord of The Rings style warg, look it up if you haven't seen the movies yet), standing 6 feet at the shoulder. A gaping mouth filled with jagged teeth snapped at the boys; two black, beady eyes flashed in anticipation. Her fur was muddy and matted, and he large claws were broken, yet sharp.  
  
It was at this exact point that the boys couldn't take it anymore.  
  
The all slammed against the back wall, squeezing as far away as they could from Camille the warg. They all cowered in fear for their lives, but Shute especially put some effort into trying to keep away.  
  
"NO!" Shute's small eyes darted about the room. "NO! GET IT AWAY FROM ME! PLEASE!"  
  
"Oh no, I forgot!" Zero met Prince John's eyes. "M'Lord, Shute can't do this test. He is deathly afraid of dogs. You have to get him out of there!"  
  
Camille barked again, scaring all four of the boys and making them bunch down again. Princess Aresia ran to the guardrail of the balcony and shouted, "Shute, hang on! Don't be scared, just blast her!"  
  
"Aresia!" Prince John pulled the princess back by her collar. "Behave yourself, you're starting to sound like him (he pointed to Shute)!"  
  
Camille growled threateningly at the boys, her lips twitching in agony, but she made no move to attack. The triplets heard snarling, but Shute began to hear words...  
  
Meanwhile, Captain was trying to talk Prince John into letting him go and get Shute. "Sir, his magic performance will be hindered by the fact that he is scared out of his wits, now will you please let him do something else?"  
  
"This is the only sure-fire way to know," answered the not-quite-king. "Notice anything yet, boys?"  
  
Noah, Doah, and Coah shook their heads, but Shute actually nodded. "Who took her puppies away?"  
  
Baku's eyes bugged out as the answer went through his head. How did he know?  
  
Zero wasn't sure he heard right. "Wait, what?"  
  
"She said someone took her puppies away!" Shute continued, ignoring the stares of the other boys. "That's why she's acting so crazy; she said so! Didn't you hear her?"  
  
Prince John lowered his head. "And so he is..."  
  
In a flash of light, Camille disappeared, leaving the boys alone in the room. Prince John pulled Zero aside to talk to him, and Baku followed out of curiosity. Captain reached down to grab Shute's hand; the triplets got to him first, so they had to be pulled up into the balcony. Captain reached down again and Shute grabbed his hand.  
  
"Are the tests done now?"  
  
"Yes, you don't have to do any more." Captain squeezed Shute's hand warmly. "Are you okay?"  
  
A bit of color escaped from Shute's face. "I'm tired, and I'm scared, and I wanna go home."  
  
"If I had known that they were going to pull a dog on you, I would have never agreed to this test. I'm sorry." The Soul Drive started to purr pleasantly, and a small light made Captain's chest glow from the inside out.  
  
"It's okay, Captain, it's not your fault." Shute was pulled upwards and into Captain's arms, where he promptly fell into a deep sleep.

&&&

Captain tucked Shute into bed (a guest bed that John had provided for him) while Prince John explained his performance to Zero and Baku. "Shute passed all of the tests; he might a supreme magic being like myself."  
  
"Is that good?" Baku asked Zero, who remained cool and collected during the conversation.  
  
"Most people who have magic can only do one thing with it. Noah could only do fire, Coah could only do water, and Doah..." He placed a hand to his cheek. "Oh no, poor Doah didn't pass any of the tests."  
  
"So Shute doing more than one thing means...?"  
  
"That he might be able to do everything," Prince John spit, a chill running up his spine. "Me and my brother Davis are the only supreme beings in Lacroa."  
  
"So, what's going to happen to Shute?" Baku questioned with a fearful tone. He looked behind him to Shute and Captain, the latter stroking the former's hair.  
  
Prince John gulped. "I don't know..."  
  
DONE! Notes, notes, uh...  
  
Baku says a lot of stuff in Japanese in this fic. "Joudon janai" is something like "You've got to be kidding". "Sugoi" is "cool". "Uso darou konna" is "You've GOT to be kidding me" (different stress). "Masaka" is "can't be, impossible". Anything else can be looked up.  
  
For those who didn't catch it, Shute blew up the sword with a blast of pure magic energy, not unlike those generic energy attacks in "Dragonball Z".  
  
Didn't have a song because this section of the story came out longer than I thought. I'll have a song for the next chapter, though! 


	3. Acting Like Boys

The Power of Music and Other Things  
  
Finally, a chapter with another song! Again! Anyway, chapter summary: Two words- well three: EXTREME cabin fever. It's also a clue as to what the song is.  
  
Shute woke up for the first time that night after a... not quite nightmare, but what he called a "worry-mare", a dream that didn't scare him as much as just making him uneasy. The second he opened his eyes, he forgot most of the dream; all he remembered was a big wolf and a feeling of claustrophobia. He sniffed, turned onto his stomach, and stretched out in his bed. "Yume desu..."  
  
Asleep.  
  
The second time he woke up that night was a certain Gundam nudging his shoulder. His eyelids fluttered open to see Captain kneeling beside him. Wait a minute, had he been crying? His face was wet, and his eyes were tinted red.  
  
"Cappy?" Cappy was a nickname Shute had assigned Captain a ways back when they first met. He never called Captain by "Cappy" unless no one was around; Captain was still a little hung-up on how nicknames worked. "What's wrong?"  
  
Captain folded his hands and quickly bowed like he saw Shute do once. "Shute, I'm sorry to bother you, but could I stay in here for a while? I had a nightmare."  
  
"A nightmare?" Shute began to wake up more, as his eyes were now focusing.  
  
"Well, not exactly a nightmare; it didn't scare me, it just made me feel a little uneasy."  
  
Déjà vu.  
  
Shute sighed and scootched over. "If you stay in my bed all night like last time, people are gonna yell at us."  
  
"How was I supposed to know that your mother woke you up in the morning?" Captain scooped up a big portion of blanket and snuggled himself in. "Besides, you always said you hopped in bed with your parents whenever you got scared, and you're-"  
  
"I'm the closest thing you have to a parent, I know." Shute leaned forward and touched Captain's forehead to his. "Goodnight."  
  
"Thank you." Captain placed on hand on Shute's forearm and went to sleep. The young one giggled.  
  
"You always act more human whenever nobody's there to watch." Shute closed his eyes as Captain began to mumble in his sleep. "Oyasumi nasai."  
  
The third time he was woken up that night was upon hearing Zero fiercely whispering at Captain.  
  
"Captain? Hu- what are you doing here?"  
  
"Wha-?" Captain was always a little out of it when he slept.  
  
"Get out of here!"  
  
Shute didn't dare open his eyes, so he had to guess that Zero was hitting Captain with his sword or something while chasing him out of the room. Shute faked stuffing his face into his pillow to keep from laughing at the mental image.  
  
Another Gundam hand on his forehead made him think Captain was back, but only for a second. This hand was slightly more slim, with the fingertips smooth and soft in a way only Gundams could be. In short, they were Zero's.  
  
"Il est un petit ange. (He's a little angel.)" It must've been Zero talking in another language; the auburn one could understand what he was saying even though he'd never heard anyone say anything in that language before. Shute let himself be placed into Zero's lap as the Winged Knight went on in English. "Shute, I know there tests are hard; I took my share of hard times too. But you're different. You've got a special gift, one that's one in a million."  
  
He felt a soft feeling against his body, like his was being wrapped in silk; he had no idea what it was, but something told him it was nothing to be afraid of. Zero began hugging Shute to his stomach. "I am so proud of you. I know I don't say it much, but I am. You and me are not that different, young Shute. You and me both share the determination we need to get through something like being a magical being. Just hang in there."  
  
Zero clutched Shute's hand in his. "And know that you're not alone."  
  
And the young boy heard this all, whether Zero knew this or not. He pulled the knight's hand to his cheek (trying to make it look unconscious) and covered up his watering eyes. Zero sighed and patted Shute on the head. "Je t'aime, peu d'ange (I love you, little angel)."  
  
Shute felt the mystery silk pulling away as Zero flew upwards, gently putting his head back on the pillow. He felt the silk one last time as a cold metal plate placed itself on his forehead and quickly warmed to a pleasing sensation. Shute wasn't sure of what it was for only a split second before hearing the recognizable sound of a peck; Zero was kissing him on the forehead! The silk pulled itself away, and a soft purr confirmed that Zero had left.  
  
He pulled the thin blanket around his ears and sniffed, wiping the tears away. He sighed and mouthed to no one, "It feels good to be loved."  
  
The fourth and final time he was woken up that night was by three triplets (is that redundant?).  
  
"WAKE UP!"  
  
Shute felt himself literally flying out of bed and landing roughly on the floor, Coah, Doah, and Noah sitting where he would have been sleeping.  
  
"The sun's up!" shouted one of the triplets, unidentifiable because he had no crown.  
  
"Gotta wake up, the sun's up!" another triplet fell onto the ground, scrambling to Shute on all fours. "Sun's up, sun's up!"  
  
"Gotta go get breakfast!" said the last triplet, bouncing on the bed. Shute began to laugh.  
  
"Look's like you guys already had your morning sugar, and plenty of it!" Shute grunted as one of the triplet sat on his chest.  
  
"We didn't have any breakfast yet!" he said. His voice was rough sounding; he was probably Noah.  
  
Shute raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you acting like capuchin monkeys who've just eaten a whole carton of Zinger cakes?"  
  
"We were excited 'cause we get to spend all day with you!" said another triplet with a deeper voice; maybe that one was Noah...  
  
Another triplet with a softer voice, definitely not Noah, finished with, "Nobody ever takes the time to play with us, you're all we've got!"  
  
They threw up their hands and yelled in unison. "You're like the brother we've never had!"  
  
Shute blushed. "Aw..." He stood up quickly, lifting the triplet on his chest up with him. "Okay, time to wakey wakey, eggs and bacey!"  
  
Each triplet giggled and laughed at the new, exotic Neotopian phrase. Shute blushed deeper and began to carry the kids away.  
  
&&&  
  
It was The Dining Hall again, this time with the jesters reading out current Lacroan news while the night robe-decked royalty ate their breakfast. It wasn't a breakfast Shute was used to, as there were no eggs, no waffles with maple syrup, or anything like that. There was a large amount of white bread (no toast, though), three types of meat and fish, and an odd assortment of drinks. He looked about fervently until he found something that remotely smelled like bacon, grabbing it with his hands and digging in. The one part he loved was that he wasn't fussed at for eating with his hands because that was the only way to do it! Due to the lack of forks or anything vaguely utensil-like, everyone was forced to eat everything with their hands, even Princess Aresia and Zero!  
  
It was Bakunetsumaru, Zero, Captain, Prince John, Princess Aresia, Coah, Shute, Doah, and Noah sitting left to right at the head table in that order. Coah pointed to different food items and pointing out to his favorite brother figure (I.e. Shute) what was good at the table and what wasn't.  
  
"And that's salmon, and that's trout, and that's some kinda fish called a gudgeon that I don't like." Coah stuck out his tongue, only to be smacked by Aresia in the back of the head. "Ow!"  
  
"What about the meats?" Shute asked. He held up his current foodstuff, the bacon-smelling thing. "What's this?"  
  
All three triplets answered, "Bacon."  
  
Shute blushed and bit into it again. He should've guessed it was bacon, it just wasn't bacon strips.  
  
"That's mutton," said Noah, pointing to a rather dark cut of meat near Prince John. "You should try it, it's really good!"  
  
Shute nodded and reached for the mutton, only to have it snatched away by Bakunetsumaru. "Oi!"  
  
"Sumimasen!" Baku dug this face into the mutton and ripped out a huge chunk of meat, chomping it down. Shute could actually see his tiny Gundam teeth at work at he ate away. "But I'm hungry!"  
  
Shute went "aaa" and tore off a piece of white bread and popped it in his mouth. It was at this point that his mouth started to get really dry. "Guys, what do we have to drink?"  
  
Noah passed him a small pewter cup filled with something that looked like apple juice. Fizzy apple juice, and it sure didn't smell like apple juice. He shrank back in fear. "What's that?"  
  
"A special brew of the king's ale," Princess Aresia informed the boy. "Made with special spices; it packs a larger punch than common ale."  
  
Shute pushed the cup away slowly. "No thanks..." He leaned forward. "Prince John, may I be excused?"  
  
"And me!"  
  
"And me!"  
  
"And me!"  
  
Prince John sighed into his cup of ale. "Yes you may."  
  
"Thank you!" Shute bounced away, the triplets following and cheering. Aresia stood up to follow him- I mean, them, but Prince John sat her back down.  
  
"Aa, aa, Aresia, you need to finish your breakfast."  
  
Aresia sighed and bit into a piece of salmon.  
  
&&&  
  
Shute was missing his morning apple by this time. He remembered something that Zero had told him long ago.  
  
"Hey, Coah, the-"  
  
The triplet he was addressing interrupted. "I'm Doah."  
  
"Oh, Doah," Shute blushed. "Well... Uh... Ha ha ha..."  
  
"Keep asking your question," said the offended brother.  
  
"The castle is sitting on a tree, right?"  
  
The triplets looked at each other, back to Shute, and nodded. "Yep, a spirit tree. The biggest one in all of Lacroa!"  
  
"Then that means the tree has fruits, right?"  
  
The triplet's eyes began to shift towards each other again. "Uh..."  
  
Shute eyebrow shot straight up. "What? What's wrong?"  
  
They spoke in unison again. "The Spirit Tree hasn't bloomed since the Dark Axis took over."  
  
Shute's face squeezed itself into a determined look. "Let's go double check."  
  
&&&  
  
"Shute's magic is very strong," Prince John stated, inciting a "duh" from Bakunetsumaru. "As such, it may be dangerous to put him back with normal people. Such a strong magic force has the ability to lose control."  
  
"He hasn't blown anybody up yet!" Bakunetsumaru yelled.  
  
"I agree," Captain stated. "Shute has never harmed anyone with his magic, and thus he is no danger to anyone."  
  
"Well, the thing is..." Prince John raised his index finger on his left hand. "Shute didn't show any signs of being magic until I levitated him." He placed his hand parallel to the floor and rocked it back and forth to demonstrate the levitating. "He had the magic; I just unsettled it and now it's popping out everywhere."  
  
"It's like shaking a can of soda," Zero explained to his magic-ignorant friends.  
  
Baku and Captain looked at each other. "Ooohhhh...."  
  
"And as such, h-"  
  
The castle unexpectedly moved back and forth slightly, and the sound of a thunderclap rumbled outside.  
  
"It is raining?" Captain asked.  
  
"No, that's The Spirit Tree talking!" Zero screamed.  
  
Prince John's eyebrow went up his forehead. "But only Davis and I can talk to th-" The surrogate king turned on his non-existent heel. "SHUTE!"  
  
&&&  
  
A window not far away led right onto a huge branch of The Spirit Tree, which looked relatively healthy and colorful. The leaves were green, pink, and blue, and the branches were a light purple. All the extra colors made Shute's eyes hurt, but he quickly adjusted and stepped onto the middle of the limb. The other three slowly followed him, walking on their toes, apologizing with every step.  
  
Shute straddled the branch and grabbed onto a twig, which wiggled under his fingers. A low rumble surged through the tree, into his legs, and straight into his ears.  
  
#Who are you?#  
  
"The tree talks, cool!" Shute thought. He turned around to see Coah, Doah, and Noah all bunched together and screaming about an earthquake. "I guess they can't hear it..."  
  
Shute cleared his throat and spoke to the tree. "Excuse me, Mr.- Mrs.- um... Spirit Tree, but do you have any fruits I could eat?"  
  
The tree rumbled again. #Not yet...#  
  
Shute didn't quite understand. "What does that mean?"  
  
#It takes a long time...#  
  
Shute stroked the tree lovingly. "Aw, poor thing... Is there anything I can do to help?"  
  
The twig of The Spirit Tree jerked itself out of Shute's hand as another branch, this one with a multicolored flower, lowered itself into Shute's face. #Ask the flower...#  
  
Shute stared into the twitching plant, feeling a little goofy. "Uh, excuse me... Um... Do you have any fruits we could eat?"  
  
The flower responded by closing in on itself and opening again with an apple hanging from its center!  
  
"COOL!" Shute plucked the apple and bowed. "Thank you very much!" He turned around and gave the apple to Coah. "Come on guys, all you need to do is ask the flowers to give you some fruit!"  
  
Coah gulped and grabbed a branch with a few small flowers. "Um, could I have some fruit please?" He waited for the response, but got none. "Well, excuse me for asking!"  
  
"Maybe they're not big enough to make fruit," Shute thought, remembering the Merlin movie he had watched a long time ago. He wiggled his fingers over the little buds. "Grow grow grow!"  
  
The leaves twisted and twirled and grew bigger and bigger as the triplets watched. They giggled and clapped their hands as the flowers grew them a pear, grapes, and an orange.  
  
Shute rested on his laurels and watched as the tree began to blossom like crazy. He softly plucked an apple off of a flower and bit into it, savoring the juiciness. "This is the life."  
  
"Hey, Shute, you wanna do something else?" Coah asked. "There's still a bunch of castle to explore."  
  
"Not while it's sunny out!" Shute moaned. "We've gotta enjoy the sunshine before it-"  
  
KAJABOOWOOWOOWOOOooooo!  
  
The water fell onto his shirt through the tree limbs. "Rains... Let's go..."  
  
&&&  
  
"Something keeps bugging me..." the older one admitted. "Remember Camille?"  
  
"How could we forget Camille?" Noah moaned, looking back to the viscous warg that was supposedly a magic test.  
  
"Well, she seemed really sad to me..." Shute rubbed his head in thought, his hair ruffling softly. "I mean, the whole puppy thing-"  
  
"SHUTE!"  
  
The four boys turned around to see a feminine figure running towards them. Coah, Doah, and Noah smiled. "Aresia!"  
  
Shute waved. "Aresia-hiime, ohayo gozaimasu!" The Princess stopped just before him, bending over and gasping for breath. Shute leaned forward and watched the girl. "Man, you're a wimp."  
  
"I... I just... Wanted.... (gasp)..." Aresia straightened herself, took a big breath, and tried her best to keep her dignity. "So, what were you about to do?"  
  
Shute felt a drop of sweat rolling down the back of his neck. "I was just gonna go talk to Camille."  
  
"CAMILLE!?"  
  
Shute winced as all of the royal siblings shouted into his ears. "I'm not actually going down there with her! I'm just gonna go on that balcony thing Captain was on and talk to her!"  
  
"You're loony!" screamed Doah.  
  
"No, I'm sympathetic, because there are two thing I hate, and that's dogs and mothers who are upset! And if I can fix one of the things, I'll fix it! Now come on!"  
  
Shute snatched Aresia by the arm and pulled her along behind him, letting the triplets catch up.  
  
&&&  
  
Camille looked up at the boys towering over her, her lips twitching on the verge of a snarl. Shute became pale in fear, gulped it away, and smiled. "H- h-h-h-h-h-hi, Ca-Camille."  
  
Camille howled, and Shute's ears picked up words. #Go away!#  
  
"No! I want you to tell me what's wrong!" Shute leaned onto the guardrail. "Who took your puppies? Can you remember what he looked like?"  
  
#No human can understand!# Camille began to whimper. #Humans took them away, humans will not take them back!#  
  
"I'm not promising to give them back," Shute said. "I'm saying that I can help you feel better."  
  
"What's going on?" Aresia whispered into Shute's ear, tickling him to the point of him slapping her away.  
  
"I need to concentrate, Aresia-hiime, cut it out!" Shute waved the triplets closer. "We're not gonna hurt you, Camille. We're puppies too, see?"  
  
Noah began to laugh. "Yeah, we're human puppies!"  
  
Coah tucked in his hands and yapped while Doah laughed. Princess Aresia rubbed her temples. "Brothers..."  
  
#You can't be puppies,# Camille barked. #Where is your mommy?#  
  
"My mom's back in another dimension," Shute lowered his head. "And my dad, and my sister, and the rest of my family."  
  
"Mummy's with Maana now," Aresia pointed out. "She caught something from a bad piece of fish."  
  
"And Daddy's on a sacred quest," said the triplets. "We haven't seen him in a while."  
  
"We're lost puppies, Camille," said Aresia. "Just like you're a lost mother."  
  
#No! No lost puppies!# The immense warg put her front paws up on the wall, looking straight up at the children. #I hate lost puppies. If you'll be my puppies, I'll be your mommy.#  
  
"Really?" Shute gasped.  
  
Aresia looked over at the boy who was a little bit shorter than her. "What?"  
  
"She says she's willing to be a surrogate mom if we let her!" Shute smiled. He listened to the royal siblings cries of approval and looked down at Camille. "You're the nicest dog I've ever met Camille!"  
  
#WARG!# said the horse-sized wolf-dog. #Dogs are stupid human sucker- uppers!#  
  
Shute giggled. "Yeah!"  
  
&&&  
  
Prince John floated into Camille's cave, expecting for the big warg to come out and jump at him. He shined a light into the cave when he wasn't jumped; there were a great deal of cow bones, but no Camille. He flew back into the hallway where Zero, Baku, and Captain were waiting. "That boy let the dog out, I know it!"  
  
"Shute hates dogs," Captain stated. "Remember?"  
  
"He's more trouble than he's worth, that Shute boy!" Prince John grunted, not paying attention to the non-Lacroan Gundams. "Zero, how do you put up with him?"  
  
"He's usually not this bad, sir," Zero pleaded. "Please, m'lord, he's just a boy, he can't control himself."  
  
A stone gargoyle shook himself and lowered his head. "Sire, news from the third floor corridor."  
  
&&&  
  
"You guys have a swimming pool?!" Shute gasped, staring at the huge pool of water that stretch out before him. Although the room it was in had little lighting, speckles of light still danced on the surface as speckles of light are want to do on water.  
  
The triplet raised their fingers. "What's a pool?"  
  
"That's part of the moat." Aresia placed her hand on Shute's shoulder. "This is the place where we feed the moat monsters."  
  
Shute began to feel his eye twitching. "How can you have a moat if you live in a tree!?"  
  
Aresia blushed. "I... I don't know..."  
  
SPLOOSH!  
  
"SHUTE!" Aresia screamed as she lurched forward without warning. She was able to keep herself from falling, but it took a few minutes to realize that Camille was standing next to her and Shute was in the moat monster pool. "What are you doing?"  
  
The boy who had been completely submerged at the time she said it popped out of the water oblivious to her shouting. He spit out a big mouthful of water. "Come on in, it's warm!"  
  
Camille barked out to the boy. #GET UP HERE! HURRY!#  
  
"I can swim!" yelled Shute.  
  
"So can all the moat monster's food!" Noah shouted.  
  
Shute began to go pale, as he always did when scared. "The what?" A sharp blade-like thing brushed past his heel. He panicked and began to sink. "AA! JAWS! JAWS!"  
  
Coah screamed and focused his magic on the water around Shute, pulling it (along with the 10-year-old) up and out of the moat just in time to see a huge, sharp horn and a wide set of jaws snap at the water below him.  
  
Shute gulped and looked at Coah. "You are so cool. You are so much better at water magic than me."  
  
Coah blushed. "No, I'm not..."  
  
"Yes you are! I nearly pass out every time I try to do something water related! You just picked me and a bunch of other water up! It's cool!"  
  
Coah blushed again as his brothers hugged him. "Aw... Thanks..."  
  
"So now what are we gonna do?" asked Doah.  
  
"We could walk laps around the edge of the lake," suggested Aresia. "That's what I do in my time off."  
  
Shute looked at Camille, and they both shared a wide grin.  
  
&&&  
  
"WAAAAH!" Shute clung to Camille's fur as she rocketed around the pool at a full gallop with him resting on her back. The triplets were howling from behind, sitting in a wagon attached to the great beast's shoulders. Aresia sat in the cart with her brothers, but her arms were wrapped around Shute's waist. "THIS ROCKS!"  
  
A woman in a regal gown suddenly stepped into the hallway, right in front of the stampeding warg! "Camille, look out from the Countess of Devon!" Coah shrieked.  
  
Camille roared and bounded over the countess. She, unfortunately, didn't look where she was going and crashed into a box of crystals.  
  
KABOOM!  
  
Aresia took a few minutes to catch her breath while Shute laughed with every ounce of air he had in his body. "That was fun!" He reached down and picked up one of the crystals, which was yellow. "These are prett- wait a minute. What the-?"  
  
He switched hands with the crystal and saw that it had left a yellow powder on his hands... Like chalk...  
  
"Sidewalk chalk!" he drew a yellow smiley face on the floor. "Coah, Doah, Noah, look!"  
  
"Cool!" the boys each grabbed their favorite color and began drawing. The Aresia tentatively picked up a pink crystal and began writing in calligraphy. She put a very fancy version of her name on the floor.  
  
Noah wrote his name on the floor roughly. "That's my name, N-O-A-H."  
  
"My name is spelled D-O-H-A." said Doha, formerly Doah.  
  
"Do-ha?" Shute spoke the word phonetically.  
  
"The 'h' is silent," said Doha.  
  
"My name doesn't have an 'h'!" said Coah, or Coa. "C-O-A, see?"  
  
"My name's spelled S-H-U-T-E. Not S-H-O-O-T, 'cause that's like a gun."  
  
#I'm C-AMILLE!# barked Camille, enticing laughter from the peanut gallery.  
  
"Best dog-"  
  
#WARG!#  
  
"Warg, sorry!" Shute got over his blush and continued. "Best warg ever!"  
  
Camille smiled and barked. It wasn't a bark that said anything, it was just a bark for the sake of being a bark. The human boy gripped his chalk crystal tightly. "Oo, man..."  
  
The crystal started to glow in his hand. "I've got Cabin Fever!"  
  
The triplet raised a crystal in salute. "CABIN FEVER!"  
  
&&&  
  
(An unexpected mariachi beat rang through the hallways. As the music picked up, Shute leapt onto Camille's back and began to ride, holding his crystal- holding arm out to the side. As he galloped down the hallway, the crystal (no idea how it did it) left yellow chalk-like marks on the wall. And it wasn't even touching it!)  
  
Shute: I got cabin fever, it's burning in my brain!  
I've got cabin fever it's driving me insane! (TRIPLETS!)  
(The triplets can feel they have a song on their hands and began singing. As they danced, patterns of red, purple, and green etched themselves on the wall.)  
Triplets: We got cabin fever  
(They tipped their crowns in salute.) We're flipping our bandanas.  
Been stuck out here so long that we have simply gone bananas!  
  
(Shute noticed that the Countess of Devon was still on the floor, gasping for breath and muttering about wargs. Camille skidded to an abrupt halt. He pointed the crystal at her face; there was a bright flash of light, a beam of yellow shot towards her-  
  
And when she got up, she had been Carmen Miranda-ized.)  
  
Countess: Ariba!  
(She began to swing her hips, although she looked goofy and was obviously being forced to dance against her will.)  
Chica chica boom  
A chica chica boom boom chic!  
(Shute joined her at her side and danced along with her, moving his hands like he was shaking maracas.)  
Shute and Countess: Chica chica boom  
A chica chica boom boom chic.  
  
(The triplets were screaming in delight. They pointed the crystals at themselves and fired; when the light had subsided, they were in jester clothes!)  
  
Doha: We got cabin fever, we've lost what sense we had.  
Coa: We got cabin fever-  
(Aresia suddenly stepped in.)  
Aresia: We're all going (shrieking) MAD!  
  
(The music suddenly changed to a square dance tune. He clutched Aresia- hiime's hand in his, shooting them both with the yellow crystal and changing into cowboy clothes.)  
  
Shute: Grab your partner by the ears- (He snatched a chunk of her hair.)  
Aresia: Lash him to the wheel! (She answered by grabbing his ear and yanking it.)  
Shute: Do-si-do, step on her toe- (He planted his foot onto hers.)  
Aresia: Listen to him squeal! (She pinched him back, and hard. He whimpered in pain.)  
Shute: Allemande left, allemande right,  
It's time to sail or sink!  
Aresia: Swing your partner over the side  
Drop him in the drink! (Aresia swung the boy around dangerously fast, threatening to toss him into the moat. He gasped and jumped inland, dragging her down to the floor with him.  
  
(Coa, Doha, and Noah each "changed" into fancy aristocratic clothes, drawing tea cups into midair from which to drink.) Coa: We got cabin fever  
No if's, and's, or but's  
Noah: We're disoriented  
Doha: And demented  
Coa: And a little nuts!  
  
(Shute waved his hands. "Oo, oo, watch this!")  
  
Shute: Ach du lieber Volswagen car! (Camille: Yodel-lay-ee-hoo)  
Saur braten viener schnitzel  
Und a vunder bar! (Camille: Yodel-lay-ee-hoo)  
(Aresia spread out her arms and twirled her skirt merrily.)  
Aresia: We were sailing, sailing the wind was on our side-  
(Evil, minor organ chords played in the background as a cow's skeleton rose out of the moat. Underneath it was the moat monster, although all you could see was his long horn.)  
Aresia: And then it died. (Shute: Oh, I get it!)  
  
Shute: (Hey) I've got cabin fever,  
I think I've lost my grip.  
(Coa and Doha bounded up next to Shute, dressed in a chalky sombrero and poncho.)  
Coa: I'd like to get my hands on  
Whoever wrote this script.  
  
Doha: Si!  
  
(Aresia floated past, strumming an imaginary lute, her eyes lost in a fanciful dream.)  
  
Aresia: I was floating 'neath a tropic moon  
And dreaming of a blue lagoon,  
(Her eyes suddenly flared as if a bomb had gone off in her brain.)  
Now I'm crazy as a loon  
  
(Shute threw his fists into the air. "GO PRINCESS! BIG FINISH!"  
  
The triplets simply had to wave their crystals, and a huge crowd of chalk people appeared on the walls, singing with the five young ones.)  
  
Shute, Princess, Triplets, and Crowd: Cabin fever has ravaged all aboard;  
This once proud vessel has become a floating psycho ward!  
We were sailing, sailing, headed who knows where.  
And now though we're all here  
We're not all there! Cabin fever!  
  
&&&  
  
"WOO HOO!" Shute bounced up into the air, all of the chalky residue falling off of him and the kids and the wall; by the time the chalk had settled, most of the third floor corridor was colored a weird mix of yellow, red, purple, and green.  
  
"DO IT AGAIN!" Coa shouted. "Do it again!"  
  
"Yeah, do it-" Noah covered his mouth as he yawned. "Again."  
  
"I'm tired..." Doha admitted, falling into the floor. "Let's rest."  
  
The other four (five if you counted Camille) felt the exhaustion like a punch in the stomach and agreed. Camille the warg settled herself against the wall and let the chalk-colored kids rest their heads against her stomach. Shute sighed and scootched backwards so that he could lay his head on Camille's leg. "Need to rest... And then have some more fun, right guys?"  
  
A little cough sounded in his left ear. "And Princess?"  
  
"Yes, that sounds like fun..." Aresia stifled a yawn and tucked her legs under her dirty skirt. "For now..."  
  
"Nap time."Shute closed his eyes and let his mind wander as the other kids drifted off to sleep. What else could they do today? They could go into the Music Room and play Cartoon Freeze Tag. Maybe they could just take a break and tell each other stories like he did with his cousins; maybe he'd learn some cool Lacroan folklore, like who Maana was or something like that. Or maybe they could find a bone and play fetch with Camille since she had waited through most of that song doing nothing. Or maybe...  
  
His thoughts were cut short by a tight, punching feeling in his chest. He was suddenly pulled upwards by a tight force on his lungs, rocketing into the air. He opened his eyes and saw the royal children sitting beneath him (upside down), their faces aghast. As he was flipped to his feet, he made out the brown form that was Camille jumping to his rescue. He was too dizzy to see anything past that point, but once he was righted he was staring into the face of Prince John.  
  
"You let Camille out!" Prince John screamed, scaring Shute into a little ball of himself.  
  
"Uncle John, put him down!" Aresia begged. "Please!"  
  
"He didn't do anything wrong, please, Uncle John!" cried the triplets.  
  
"She was depressed, I thought I'd cheer her up!" Shute gulped in fear. "She's really nice, a whole lot nicer than I thought a dog would be!"  
  
#WARG!# Camille bound into the air and tried to catch Prince John by the robe, but her teeth closed around smoke.  
  
Prince John grappled Shute's neck and hissed, "You let loose my magic test warg and ruined my creativity crystals!"  
  
"The sidewalk chalk?"  
  
John tightened his grip. "You be quiet-AAH!"  
  
Prince John jumped into the air while shrieking in pain. In his place stood a laughing Bakunetsumaru, holding a katana and pointing it in John's direction. Shute giggled and flung his arms around the samurai Gundam. "Bokku no shite!"  
  
"Ano... Arigatou." Baku patted his head softly.  
  
John landed roughly, a large red vein stamped onto his forehead. "You MORONS! DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ASSAULTED A KING?!"  
  
Bakunetsumaru looked behind him and saw that Zero and Captain had caught up with him. He waved the kids down a hallway. "Get going, I'll take care of this guy."  
  
"Thanks, Baku." Shute hugged the red Gundam while the royal siblings raced into a different corridor. Camille gave Shute a soft nudge; he jumped onto her back and trotted after the kids, leaving a confused Bakunetsumaru behind.  
  
&&&  
  
The wall before them began opening up into a door. Prince John passed through the small opening without effort while the Gundams waited for the door to be big enough to allow them through. Zero floated through sideways and addressed his king. "M'Lord, I am so sorry about Shute's behavior. Just give us a chance to talk to him, and we'll set him straight, I swear!"  
  
"I don't want to hear it, Zero." Prince John waited for Captain and Bakunetsumaru to enter before sealing the doorway behind him. He had retreated the Gundams into a small study about the size of a typical apartment; it was a modest room with an intricate rug, a few books, and very good lighting. Prince John cleared his throat. "I have had enough of this boy running around the castle and ruining everything he touches!"  
  
Bakunetsumaru leaned over to the fuming Captain Gundam. "He's just still sore because I caught him in the back end with my sword."  
  
Captain stifled a giggle.  
  
"Therefore, I believe I have no other choice. The boy Shute will have to stay here and learn to control his magic powers as well as his behavior." Prince John patted his chest; he was having trouble breathing after being around all that chalk dust. "Excuse me." And then he coughed.  
  
"Alright then," Captain responded. "How long are we staying?"  
  
"No, Captain," said Zero. His voice sounded lower than usual, and his eyes wouldn't come to meet with Captain or Baku's. "Shute will have to s_tay_ here. Magic training takes years..." He sighed mournfully. "You'll have to go on without him."  
  
Captain stepped back as if he had been punched. Baku felt the blood draining from his face. "What? But... How? Shute will be here all by himself, you can't do that! He's just-"  
  
"He won't be here by himself!" Zero snapped. He froze as he realized he had screamed at Bakunetsumaru and Captain in cold blood; he hadn't told them yet. He gulped back his pride and softly spoke, "I... I'm staying here with him."  
  
Bakunetsumaru stood motionless, his eyes wide. "No..."  
  
"I'm sorry," Zero sighed, lowering himself to the ground. "But, my mission is done! Lacroa is saved, my princess is alive again... What else is there for me to do? I have no reason to leave!" He looked into Baku's heartbroken eyes. "I'm sorry."  
  
The red Gundam turned away, trying hard to hide his watering eyes. He took the speechless Captain by the arm. "Come on, Captain, let's go."  
  
He gave Zero once last glance over his shoulder; the Winged Knight was standing there, his hands held stiffly at his sides. Baku could tell he was trying hard not to show any emotion by the way his eyes didn't quite focus on his face. "We have no reason to stay."  
  
The Neotopian Gundam choked back a sob while the Blazing Samurai led him through the exit door. Zero watched them exit and then stared at the wall for some time. That was the hardest thing he had ever done in his life; tears he had held back began to flow down his cheeks.  
  
Prince John stood up and placed a hand on Zeros' shoulder; the knight turned to face him without hesitation. It was strange looking at Zero like this, because to John, Zero had always reminded him of a deer. The way his eyes were shaped, it always looked as if he was about to cry. Now that he was, Prince John immediately felt as if he was looking into the eyes of a child.  
  
"You did the right thing."  
  
Zero looked to the floor. His tears ran onto his Soul Stone; the large amount of energy running through his heart made his circuits short, and he would feel small stabs of pain with every breath he took.  
  
"I hope so."  
  
&&&  
  
"How could he do such a thing?!" Baku screamed into the hallway, his fists clenched so tightly that the wiring in his hands were beginning to ache. "That heartless piece of scrap metal!"  
  
"It's for Shute's own good." Captain was trying his best to convince himself that what Zero was doing was a good thing, but (bless his heart) it wasn't working. His sad eyes were fixed onto his face. "And with Zero here with him-"  
  
"Zero's gonna go fawn after the Princess while Prince John beats Shute over the head with his Electro-Scepter!" Baku roared, his face dangerously close to Captain's. "How's that for his own good?!"  
  
"Zero wouldn't let that happen!" Captain shrieked in a rare moment of anger, his expression changing from sad to angry. "He's still our friend, and I trust him!"  
  
Baku heaved a sigh. "It's not that I don't trust Zero. It's that I don't trust that floating sham of a magic-using king! He'll make it so that Shute and Zero never see each other, I know it!"  
  
Baku took a few deep breathes while Captain sat in an uncomfortable silence, his eyes finally switched back to their normal screen. Captain unsheathed his face and rubbed his cheeks in a desperate sort of way, his normal sharp-as-a-tack mind fogged with fear and emotion.  
  
"What are we going to do, Bakunetsumaru?"  
  
"What else can we do?" Baku looked at Captain's shoulder; it seemed like there was something missing. "Where's your beam saber?"  
  
"In my room," said Captain.  
  
"We'll be leaving soon, go get it." Baku watched Captain walk past him, but made no move to follow. He took a right turn and headed towards the middle of the castle.  
  
"But what can I do..." he spoke to himself. "That's a different story."  
  
&&&  
  
The Music Room; just where he thought he'd find him. Baku stepped into the large room to see Shute sitting between the legs of the baby song dragon between the legs of the largest song dragon. The triplets sat in front of them, their hands connected in a strange way. From the looks of it, Shute was teaching them how to play that stupid "Down by the Riverside" game where you slapped each other's hands in a circle. Aresia sat next to Shute on the baby dragon's right paw (her head came up to its shoulder), watching Shute from over his head. Camille was sprawled out on the floor like some giant mutant Beanie Baby, watching Bakunetsumaru with a silent eye.  
  
Shute's eyes darted upwards as Baku took a few steps forward; he recognized the sound Gundams made when they walked. His small face lit up as Baku walked in. "Baku-san! Ogenki desu ka?" Shute noticed that Baku exerted a strange, uneasy air. "Daijoubu desu ka?"  
  
"Iie, daijoubu janai." Baku took a deep breath. "Shute, it's Zero."  
  
"Is he mad at me?" Shute shrunk back a bit. "I wanted to apologize for messing up the corridor, but I couldn't find him."  
  
"We went back and cleaned it up ourselves," said Coa.  
  
"And I found out what magic I am!" Doha laughed. "Watch!"  
  
Doha pointed to a hidden window; ice began to form on the edges of the opening, extending towards the middle until ice covered the whole thing. "I control ice! Isn't that cool? Can you believe Uncle John doesn't test for it?"  
  
Baku felt himself being crowded by the brothers assaulting him with all this magic stuff. "Yes, well, I-"  
  
Shute interrupted Bakunetsumaru's statement. "I'm really sorry that I didn't behave better earlier, Baku, but I couldn't help myself! I promise to behave better, really!" He gulped to wet his throat. "I just want Zero to be proud of me. You understand, right?"  
  
Baku felt his throat closing in on itself. "Perfectly," warbled the samurai. "But that's the problem! Zero wants you to stay here in Lacroa and learn to use your magic!"  
  
"Cool!" shouted the boys. Aresia could feel her insides flipping about in excitement; it felt like there were a million tiny Nns in her stomach.  
  
"NO, BAD!" Baku could feel his anger coming back into play as well as his voice. "Zero says learning magic takes years to do, and you'll have to stay here the whole time while me and Captain leave to fight the Dark Axis!"  
  
The happiness quickly disappeared; Shute's face went pale as the happy brightness left his eyes. "What? But- bu- but what about Zero?"  
  
"He's supposedly staying here with you, but I don't just that Prince John as far as I could throw him!" He looked to the royal kids. "No offense."  
  
The kids enthusiastically replied, "None taken."  
  
Camille barked, leaving Shute to translate. "She agrees with you."  
  
Baku nodded his thanks. "He'll probably keep you two separated while he tortures you into some kind of magical submission spell. I just know it!"  
  
"But- but-" Shute's pupils began to shrink while his voice got higher and higher. "What about Nana and Mom and Dad back home? I can't stay gone that long, they'll think I'm dead! What's Captain gonna do without me? What am I gonna do without Captain?! What am I-"  
  
"Shute, calm down!" Aresia threw her arms around Shute as he collapsed into a whimpering fit. "It's okay!"  
  
"Not it's NOT!" screamed the auburn one. "I'm never gonna see my family or my best friend again, you can't say it's okay!" Shute lurched forward, jumping off of the dragon, crawling over Camille and launching himself into Baku's arms. "Baku, you can't let him take me! You have to take me with you!"  
  
"Calm down, Shute!" Baku held the human one at arms length. "We're not gonna get anywhere with you panicking!"  
  
Baku set Shute down near the whining Camille and approached Coa, Doha, Noah, and Aresia. "Kids, is there anyplace in the castle Shute could hide from your uncle?"  
  
The siblings replied with a group "Huh?".  
  
Baku felt a migraine coming on. He closed his eyes and hissed through his teeth. "Shute hides from your uncle until my and Captain are ready to leave. We smuggle him out of the castle when he's not looking, problem solved!"  
  
"Are you sure that'll work?" Aresia twittered.  
  
Baku shrugged. "It worked for me and my sister."  
  
"But what about Zero?" Shute cried.  
  
Baku was hesitant to answer, but he couldn't hold back the truth. "Zero decided to stay here. Whether you're here or not, Zero's not leaving Lacroa. Trust me..." He turned his eyes to look at the floor. "I know him."  
  
Shute whimpered and wiped off a tear on Camille's muzzle.  
  
"Uncle John knows every place in the palace by heart, and even if he didn't he could use the essence gem to sniff out any magic anything," Coa declared. "But my dad always told us that there was always a place we could hide if the kingdom was ever in trouble."  
  
"The Dark Hole?" Shute guessed.  
  
"Sort of, but not quite," Aresia continued. "It's an old cave that dragons used to nest in; magic from within the cave can't be detected from outside the cave. It's the perfect place for anyone magic to hide."  
  
Noah cut in quickly to show off what he knew about the cave. "And it still smells a lot like dragons, too, so a lot of animals are afraid to go in there!"  
  
"PERFECT!" Baku shouted. "Shute could hide in the cave until me and Captain come back to get him, and then leave Lacroa for good!"  
  
Shute felt the words in sort of a mixed blessing; he was practically free, already feeling the weird sensation of traveling through other dimensions running through his chest. But he also felt terrible guilt and the same time; he would have to leave behind Zero, one his best friends after Captain. He wasn't sure what exactly to do; he had a family to look forward to seeing again. If he stayed in Lacroa, it'd be a guaranteed go-back to Neotopia after a certain amount of time, but with the Gundams each day was completely uncertain. His heart was pulling him in both directions. He didn't know which end to follow.  
  
"How do we get to the cave?" Shute finally asked.  
  
"Dad always put us on his pet song dragons to bring us to the cave," Noah stated. "Uh... Anybody know where Uncle John put the real song dragons?"  
  
Aresia looked up at the two statues above her. "I haven't seen the real ones since Daddy left."  
  
"What does that mean?" Baku moaned, worried already that the plan might fall apart.  
  
Coa clenched his little fists. "Uncle John put in these two fake dragons in the music room not long after Dad left, and they look just like-"  
  
"That's not what they meant, you doofus! The caves are way on the other side of the kingdom, so we can't get there without the dragons!" Doha spoke very quickly, scaring himself in the process.  
  
"You mean we can't go?!" Shute hollered in shock.  
  
The kids were afraid to answer.  
  
Baku then proved as to why the kids were afraid to answer.  
  
"NO! This can't be HAPPENING!" The samurai pounded his fist against the leg of the baby song dragon statue. "THIS ISN'T FAIR!"  
  
"What are we gonna do now?" Shute squealed.  
  
"I don't kn-" Bakunetsumaru felt the statue under his palm beginning to crack. "Oh, shimatta, I broke something."  
  
There was a loud KABANG as the black shell of the song dragons cracked into a billion pieces; underneath it stood a bright, silver shell of a living, BREATHING dragon.  
  
Baku and Shute both screamed in terror. The 50 foot tall dragon and his 9 foot tall baby stretched themselves for the first time in ages, shaking their shimmering scales and sounding loud, booming yawns that sounded suspiciously like tubas. The royal siblings' faces split into wide grins.  
  
"Sterling!" Aresia ran forward, her arms stretched out as wide as they could go. Sterling lowered his head into Aresia's chest and nuzzled her as she hugged his huge maw. "So that's what Uncle John did to you! Poor baby, Sterling!"  
  
"How's your baby?" The triplets each gave the smaller dragon a pat on the nose. "How are you, Mercury?" They laughed as she responded with a loud grunt and rolled over to be petted on her belly. "Can you fly yet?"  
  
"Eeeaaaa!" Mercury pawed at the air like a kitten, flapping her premature wings against the floor.  
  
Coa grabbed Shute by the arm and pulled him towards the big song dragon, Sterling. "This is Sterling. He's Mercury's daddy. Say hello, Sterling!"  
  
Sterling sniffed Shute's body, ruffling his hair with each intake of breath. He moaned a note that sounded like a French Horn. Shute didn't exactly know what to do because he didn't hear a voice behind it. "Um... Hello?"  
  
"There's no time for this now!" Bakunetsumaru suddenly yelped. He ran behind Shute and pushed him up Sterling's neck. "You kids take Shute and hide him in that cave thing! Me and Captain will find you later!"  
  
"Okay!" The triplets signaled to Sterling, who lowered his wings and let them climb up. Camille tumbled after the boys with a typical dog-like glee. Aresia went to follow them, but Bakunetsumaru snatched her by her skirt.  
  
"Um, Aresia-hiime, Prince John doesn't care about your brothers, but he'll notice if you go missing."  
  
"I don't care!" Aresia bounded up Sterling's wing. "I've never had so much fun in all my life! I'm not going to let my Uncle John beat the life out of him!" She latched herself to Shute's arm. "I'm going with you!"  
  
"Um... Uh...." Shute leaned over to give Baku one last goodbye. "Promise to come and get me soon?"  
  
"I'll hurry," Baku hushed. "Just go."  
  
"Domo arigatou." Shute nodded in head in agreement.  
  
"Let's go, Sterling!" Coa gave one of Sterling's scales a kick (it made a sound like a church bell). "Hee-ya!"  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAARRR!" Sterling reared onto his hind legs without warning and, with one fell swoop, tore down the entire west wall!  
  
"GAH!" Doha grabbed onto the person closest to him, Noah. "What are you doing?! Bad dragon!"  
  
"Baku, move out of the way!" Shute screamed. It was too late; baby Mercury had caught Bakunetsumaru in her mouth and flung him into a wall, knocking him unconscious. Sterling took his daughter into his mouth and barged forward, breaking down two more walls before reaching the outside.  
  
&&&  
  
"A DRAGON IS TEARING DOWN MY CASTLE!"  
  
Prince John rushed up to the highest turret of his tower, Zero and two other human guards following him. Sterling flew into view, his huge wings flapping as fast as they could. Zero could make out seven different figures on his back; one was Mercury, three of them were the triplets, one was-  
  
"Princess!" He shot forward instinctively. "That dragon's got Princess Aresia!"  
  
"Shoot him down!" Prince John pointed his scepter to the dragon. "Aim for his wings!"  
  
A multitude of archers ran out of the castle and began firing upon the dragon; few arrows pierced the membrane of his wing, but it was enough to drive him out of the air. The metallic dragon fell to the ground with a-  
  
He didn't finish falling! A blue field surrounded him and pushed him away from the ground! It was about that time that a little flash of red appeared on Sterling's neck.  
  
"SHUTE'S ON THE DRAGON!" Prince John's face became bright red. "I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!"  
  
"I've got to do something!" Zero soared down from the tower with hopes of catching the children from off of Sterling's back. The song dragon spied Zero out of the corner of his eye; his tail snapped upwards and flicked Zero out of the air and into a branch.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" Sterling gave one last roar before diving to the ground, galloping into the horizon.  
  
DONE!  
  
I don't feel like typing notes, I'm tired! 


	4. Peasants Have Magic Too?

The Power of Music and Other Things  
  
Finally! I'm back! Man, it's been an eventful summer for me. I got out of my fanfic groove for a while there. CHAPTER SUMMARY: Turns out Shute's not the only surprise magician in Lacroa; it's the villagers turn to shine!  
  
Shute could barely hang on as Sterling thundered his way across the barren stretches of Lacroa. His feet pounded against the ground with such force that the mountains shook, and the racket caused by his clanging scales was nearly unbearable.  
  
"STERLING!" Princess Aresia shouted, but could not make herself heard over the clanging. "STERLING! STOP!"  
  
Shute decided he would try to get Sterling to stop, being he was closer to his ear. "STERLING! SLOW DOWN!" Sterling began taking shorter strides, and Shute smiled. "Hey, it work-"  
  
His joy faded away as the fact that Sterling had not stopped because of Shute became evident; he was panting heavily, and his scales were hot to the touch.  
  
"OW!" Doha jumped up from his scale. "It's hot! It's hot!"  
  
"Sterling's overheating!" Shute guessed. "Everyone get off 'im! Hurry!"  
  
All of the children, including Mercury the baby song dragon, stumbled to the ground quickly while Sterling fell to his knees. Doha tapped Sterling's muzzle twice, which to him meant "Open your mouth" but to Shute meant absolutely nothing. Sterling strained his mouth open and lolled out his tongue, which Doha began bathing in ice.  
  
"Eeeaaa!" Mercury began nudging her daddy's leg pitifully. "Eeaa!"  
  
"Oh, poor Sterling baby!" Aresia tried to stroke Sterling's head, but his scales were too hot to touch without getting burned. "You're not used to running, are you?"  
  
"What's that mean?" asked Shute. "Is he okay?"  
  
"Sterling always flew us to the cave we told you about," Aresia answered.  
  
"It gets colder the higher in the sky you get," Noah stated.  
  
Shute nodded his head. "I know." He was reminded of the hours he would spend touring SDG Base with Captain, and how bracingly cold the air was up in the clouds. He felt the homesickness punching him in the stomach, and his eyes suddenly began to sting with tears, which he shook away.  
  
Doha looked up from his duty of cooling Sterling's mouth. "But he can't fly with holes in his wing, and since the Dark Axis came-"  
  
"There's no trees for shade to cool him down." Coa finished.  
  
Shute rolled his eyes. "Great. My one chance to escape, and he blows his radiator."  
  
Sterling sighed a small jet of steam out through his nostrils, a comical sight if it had not had such grave consequences. Mercury nestled herself under Sterling's wing, still crying for her daddy. Camille loped up behind Noah, curling about him protectively while sniffing the air. Shute moaned and rubbed his neck.  
  
"Well, now what are we gonna do?"  
  
Coa tapped his chin in thought. "We should probably get Sterling some water."  
  
Doha looked about. "I don't see a river."  
  
Coa snapped back at his brother. "I know there's a river somewhere north, I saw it on the way to the cave last time!"  
  
Noah raised his finger. "Even if there was a river, how are we supposed to get the water to Sterling?"  
  
"Yeah, we don't have a bucket." Doha placed another ice chunk on Sterling's tongue.  
  
Aresia nodded. "Noah does have a point."  
  
Doha howled, "I'm Doha!"  
  
Noah waved his arms. "I'm Noah!"  
  
#And I'm Camille!# barked Camille in an attempt to relieve some of the building tension.  
  
Coa growled as if frustrated. "We're magic now, remember?! We could do stuff like that easy!"  
  
"Not me!" Shute jerked back, tense with worry. "I can't do water magic, it hurts!"  
  
Aresia cocked her head in a very Sayla-ish way. "It does?"  
  
"WELL, I PASSED OUT, DIDN'T I?!" Shute rubbed his temples. "Baka hiime..."  
  
"Let's just find the river and get Sterling some water!" ordered Coa. He too rubbed his temples in anger.  
  
"Well, I'm not going on foot!" Aresia suddenly interjected. "Shute, tell Camille she'll have to carry me."  
  
Camille growled without saying anything first, but then followed with, #I don't carry rude puppies.#  
  
Shute translated, "I think Camille would help you if you asked her politely, Aresia-hiime."  
  
"I am a Princess; the only people I have to ask politely to do anything are kings and queens." Aresia ruffled her frilly dress. "And stop calling me that, I have no idea what it means!"  
  
"Aresia-hiime?" Shute cocked his head. "It just means 'Princess Aresia' in Upper Neotopian. It's my second language."  
  
"Well, stop it anyway!"  
  
Shute scrunched up his face in anger. "Baka hiime."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
Sterling cut the conversation short by blasting all of the children with a hot jet of steam They all screamed in terror, but got the message Sterling was trying to send them. They all hopped on Camille's back and began scouting for a river.  
  
&&&  
  
"So, what's a 'channeler' do?" Shute asked. Aresia had just told him that she herself was a "channeler" when he had asked what type of magic she was, and the only thing he could think of was the ability to talk to ghosts. And of course, he wasn't about to believe that.  
  
Aresia smiled, glad to get the chance to brag. "Channelers focus the magic of other people by touching them. By keeping my hand on Coa's shoulder, I am helping him concentrate on his magic so that he doesn't drop the water ball in his hands."  
  
Shute looked downward, watching Coa balance the basketball sized ball of water in his hands while Aresia (sitting behind him) kept her hand around his shoulder. The realization hit him in a few seconds. "Oh, so it's like wearing glasses when your vision's bad, right?"  
  
Aresia gave him a blank look. "What are glasses?"  
  
Shute felt a drop of sweat rolling down his temple. "Never mind-"  
  
"STERLING!"  
  
Shute's eyes snapped open at Doha's cry; Sterling was under attack by a group of 20-something spear-holding villagers! Before he realized what was going on, Camille had lunged forward, leaving him and Aresia behind while she attacked! Coa threw his water ball at the nearest villager, soaking him to the bone and making him raise his spear, ready to attack-  
  
"CAMILLE, STOP IT!" Shute reached his hand out to stop her-  
  
Suddenly, Camille (the triplets had fallen off by this point), Mercury, and about 5 of the attacking villagers were being lifted into the air in a cloud of blue magic energy.  
  
"Oi!"  
  
Shute looked to the side just as a scrawny teenaged villager kicked him into the dirt, making him drop everyone he was holding up. He was a tiny wasted boy whose clothes were too big for his body; the dull fabrics of his clothes accentuated his electric blue hair. "Gott-a fancy-lookin' lot o'er 'ere, don' we?"  
  
"Looks li'e they just came from the royal castle, Bevis!" yelled another villager who was busy wrangling Mercury behind a wall of hound dogs. "What'ya think, burg'lars?"  
  
"Naw, they's too young to be burg'lars." The teenaged villager nudged Shute's chin with the dull point of his crude spear. "So, what are ya? King's messengers?"  
  
"No!" Shute gulped back his fears and answered truthfully, taking a few minutes to think of the right word. "We're runaways."  
  
"Stop attacking our dragons!" Aresia shouted, standing up and dusting off her frilly gown. "By order of the Princess of Lacroa!"  
  
"Well, look'a'dis." The teen, called Bevis early by his friend, turned around to face his teammates. "Oi, fellas-" (everyone in the group was male) "Take'a'look'a'dis, this one's says she's'a prin-cess!"  
  
"She is a princess!" yelled Coa.  
  
Noah nodded. "And we're the princes!"  
  
Doha spoke loudly, yet a bit quieter than his brothers. "If anybody cares."  
  
Bevis poked Shute again with the spear ("At least I don't get fried by this guy," thought Shute). "Wha' does that make you, 'air boy?"  
  
Shute began to wonder why Bevis had given him the nickname "air boy", not knowing that Bevis had unknowingly dropped the 'h', but still tried to think of some way to keep himself out of trouble. "I... Uh... am these kid's kidnapper!"  
  
Bevis blinked... Then blinked again... Then withdrew his spear. "Whatcha mean by that?"  
  
"Sit still and listen for a minute-" Shute smiled, "And I'll explain this whole thing."  
  
&&&  
  
"Baku!" Zero flew into the Music Room as fast as his wings could carry him, his eyes catching nothing even the slightest tint of red. "Bakunetsumaru!"  
  
Zero mumbled a spell under his breath and pointed his hand at a pile of rocks. They instantly shrank down to the size of pebbles and formed themselves into a small pile. Underneath the pile was-  
  
"Baku!" Zero flew down to his friend and flipped him onto his back. His shell was badly dented, but the fact that his wounds were healing themselves already was enough to make Zero inwardly smile. "Oh, Baku, you're alive..."  
  
The Blazing Samurai flinched and blinked to refocus his vision; Zero was the first thing he saw, the second being a ton of stone and granite surrounding him. He grunted and tried to sit up, but a small piece of rock jammed into his shell stabbed him in the soft part of his underarmor, making him grunt in pain and fall back to the floor.  
  
"OW!"  
  
"Don't worry, Baku, I'm here!" Zero held his best friend's hand comfortingly. "It's okay, someone will be here for you in a minute."  
  
Bakunetsumaru shook his head; then his eyes focused on the gaping hole in the wall. "Where's Shute?"  
  
"Shute?" The question caught him off-guard, so Zero didn't know quite what to say. "He was... On the dragon... But you wouldn't know the drag- he's not in- (groan)."  
  
Baku closed his eyes and sighed, trying not to look relieved. Zero could hear the castle guards coming; he floated back into the air. "The guards will help you. I have to go look for the children."  
  
The Winged Knight zoomed out of the Music Room, down a few hallways (he flew right over Captain, but didn't notice), and into the Throne Room where Prince John was waiting.  
  
"I checked the Music Room just like you asked, m'lord." Zero grounded himself and continued. "I found Bakunetsumaru under the rubble."  
  
Prince John furrowed his brow. "You mean the red one?"  
  
Inwardly, Zero was offended, but he knew better than to show it. "Yes, sir, the red one. Other than that, there was nothing out of place."  
  
"What was he doing in the Music Room?"  
  
"I don't know, sir."  
  
"You didn't ask?"  
  
Oops. That order had completely slipped Zero's mind. His eyes shrunk in realization. "No, sir."  
  
Prince John slapped his forehead. "Zero..."  
  
"I'm sorry, m'lord, but he was buried under a ton of stone! He needed help!" Zero gasped as he realized he had snapped at the king and covered his mouth with his hands. "I'm sorry, m'lord!"  
  
Prince John sighed. "It's all right, Zero. We're just going to have to go out and look for them ourselves, now, won't we?"  
  
Prince John fluttered past Zero, towards a door hidden behind his throne. Zero blinked in confusion. "Um, sir, need I point out that the Kingdom of Lacroa stretches out for miles on end?" Zero received a nasty look from the king. "With all due respect, m'lord."  
  
"I know. Need I point out to you, Zero, that overweight song dragons with broken wings leave huge footprints that are terribly easy to follow?" Prince John smirked and opened the door...  
  
&&&  
  
"WOW!"  
  
Prince John winced at Zero's voice. "Zero..."  
  
"I've been around Shute for too long..."Zero covered his mouth once again. "Sorry, sir."  
  
It was a large alcove, a circle of walls without a ceiling, housing a giant clipper ship within its belly. The ship's multitude of sails were all different shades of gold; the body was a durable wood covered by a thick layer of silver. Emblazoned on the port side of the craft was the Lacroan royal family's coat of arms, a large shield with pictures of four of the five Sacred Beasts (minus Fenn, apparently).  
  
"We shall look for them in this." Prince John boasted. "It was my brother's. He took the solid gold one, but, eh, it's better than nothing."  
  
"It's beautiful!" Zero began floating towards the ship. Prince John placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Ah ah ah. The laws of Lacroa demand that there must be at least 3 knights aboard the ship at all times to protect the king."  
  
"But who are the-"  
  
It was at that time that a few dozen palace guards entered the room through a second door, shoving a very angry Captain and Zero in front of them.  
  
"Let us go!" Bakunetsumaru shouted, obviously better from the beating he took from Mercury. His hands were held behind his back by a bright blue ribbon of light. "We didn't do anything!"  
  
"Odd that you should say that." Prince John hovered in front of the two Gundams. "Baka-nada- whatever, you were found in the Music Room right after the dragons escaped... Did you see anything?"  
  
Baku gave the king an evil glare. "Bakunetsumaru."  
  
"Whatever." Prince John raised his scepter. "That's not important. Did you see what happened to the dragons?"  
  
The Blazing Samurai lowered his eyes. "No."  
  
Zero felt his chest tightening. "Baku, please, if you saw anything, you have to tell us."  
  
Baku glanced at Zero out of the tops of his eyes, but didn't say anything. He was soooo mad at him right now...  
  
"What about you?" asked Prince John, turning his attention to Captain, who also had his hands bound. "Have you seen the triplets anywhere?"  
  
Captain, surprisingly, "closed" his eyes and turned his head away, refusing to answer. Baku had told him not long ago "If you say anything, we might never see Shute again"; he had no idea what he was talking about, but the thought alone was enough to clam him up.  
  
"Captain!" Zero was in shock; Captain was never one to disobey any authority figure!  
  
"No?" Prince John seemed to be enjoying the interrogation session. "What about the Princess? Both of you. Speak up."  
  
Baku and Captain shared a look, and shook their heads "no".  
  
"No again?" Prince John smiled evilly; he was enjoying it, more than he should have, actually. "What about the other boy? Shute?"  
  
"Shute?"Captain noticeably startled, for he had no idea Shute had disappeared along with the other kids! Baku noticed what he was doing and elbowed him in the gut, raising a few suspicions within Zero's mind.  
  
"Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way." Prince John bounced his scepter in the air, like he was hitting something, and the glowing hand restraints magically disappeared. "Good. I like the hard way, it's more fun. You're now officially knights until I say otherwise, and you must accompany us on the voyage to search for the children."  
  
Their eyes showed that their hearts had just been shattered. Captain and Baku tensed up immediately and started refusing to go, saying they had to stay here unless Shute came back. Zero could feel his own heart sinking into his stomach, partly out of concern for the children, partly out of extreme guilt, and partly out of the feeling that his own friends had made all this happen.  
  
"Too late." Prince John raised his scepter, the familiar blue energy surrounding the two Gundams. "You're coming and that's final."  
  
He flung the Gundams through the air and onto the deck of the ship, Zero following swiftly behind. The two foreign Gundams landed on top of each other (more specifically, Baku on top of Captain) on the deck, Baku getting up quickly while Captain tried to recover. Zero held Captain's hand and helped him up slowly as not too hurt him.  
  
"Captain, Baku, I'm so sorry this happened." By this point, Captain was back up on his feet, but Zero wouldn't let go. "If there's anything I can do-"  
  
Captain responded by violently pulling his hand out of Zero's grasp, his Soul Drive lighting his eyes aflame out of pure fury towards Zero. Their eyes met, and Zero could feel his intense, silent anger burning in his soul stone. The Neotopian Gundam stepped away quickly, leaving the blue knight dazed and confused once again.  
  
The ship rocked unsteadily on the ground, and then began lifting into the air. Baku stood looking over the port (left) side of the ship, Captain joining him soon after his little moment with Zero. The Soul Drive tired itself out and stopped making Captain's eyes glow; he was able to look at Bakunetsumaru without the latter party flinching. "So... Where are we going now?"  
  
Baku placed his head in his hands. "On a one-way track to failure and misery, Captain." He sighed mournfully. "Getting me and my sister out of the dojo was never this complicated."  
  
Captain turned his eyes downward, studying the tracks of Sterling the dragon and the huge distances between each stride. They were at least 4.53 miles out into Lacroa... Who knows what might have been happening to them?  
  
&&&  
  
Shute had to duck to dodge the large pewter mugs of the toasting peasants. He, along with the royal children, had been heralded as heroes, and had also been made official townspeople of the village of Pigsbottom Flats, East Lacroa province (Doha never stopped laughing at the name "Pigsbottom"). Sterling, Mercury, and Camille were helping themselves to a drink of water from a fishpond nearby while the kids were eating a nice meal of vegetable soup with their new friends, the teenager Bevis and his best friend, the equally skinny and incredibly tall Trent.  
  
"So, if I got this righ'," began Bevis. "You lot were tired of gettin' trea'ed like rubbish at the castle."  
  
"Right!" chirped Shute, dodging more clinking mugs.  
  
"So, you escaped... an' came 'ere?" Bevis took a break to swallow a boiled carrot while Trent took a turn talking.  
  
"Why 'ere at Pigsbottom Flats any'ow, Shute?"  
  
Doha and Coa began sniggering uncontrollably from the other side of the table. "Pigsbottom..."  
  
Shute felt a smile tugging at his lips; his muscles were so tense that it was hard for him to talk. "We didn't plan on coming... We just sorta... geheeheehee... arrived..." He then burst into a laughing fit. "Your town's called 'Pigsbottom'!"  
  
Trent and Bevis both shared a loud belly laugh. "Yeah, we like i'too!"  
  
Princess Aresia, sticking to her old habit of staying quite until she needed to talk, tapped Bevis' arm. "Why is your village called 'Pigsbottom'? I'm certain my father wouldn't approve."  
  
"Tha's it!" cheered Trent, raising his ale mug. "Ya see, when you' father, King Davis, was in charge, the town was called Fairiecharms Flats, 'cause o' all the faeries 'round here, see?" Bevis beat his fist against the table, and three green sprinkles of light burst out from the wood and into the air.  
  
"Faeries!" Princess Aresia gasped in amazement. "I've never seen one so small! All the ones in the castle are so huge!"  
  
Bevis raised his eyebrow. "Yeeeaaahh... Well, anyway, we were 'appy to follow King Davis's rule. But now tha' that no-good, son-o'-a-'ogsbottom Prince John is in charge, we've rebelled, ya know. We changed our name to Pigsbot'om!"  
  
The peasants raised their mugs in union. "Pigsbottom Flats! Huzzah!"  
  
Noah screamed in joy. "Pigsbottom!"  
  
"Down wi'h those scurvy, royal, parsnip ea'in', magic usin' cod wallops!" yelled a rotund peasant woman with a baby in her arm. She patted the closet triplet to her, Noah, on the head. "No offense to you ickle pumpkins."  
  
Noah and his brothers shared a weird look. "Um, sure..."  
  
"They deserve to be strung up by the ears!" called another villager, this one a man.  
  
Princess Aresia leaned over to Shute's side of the table. "Shute, do you hear music?"  
  
Shute cupped a hand to his ear. Sure enough, he did hear music coming from Sterling's direction, and it sounded just like... Oh no, how on Earth or Lacroa or wherever they were did they know that song? "Oh crud."  
  
&&&  
  
Bevis: If you're blue and you don't know  
  
Where to go to, why don't you go where roy'lty sits?  
  
Puttin' on the Ritz. (Shute sighed. "Never the original words, never!")  
  
Bevis: Different types who wear ermine coats  
  
Pant-a-loons, cutaway coats, perfect fits?  
  
Puttin' on the Ritz. (The auburn one sighed. "Oh, how creative..."  
  
Princess Aresia tapped Shute's shoulder. "Shute, please, make them stop, it's embarrassing!")  
  
Trent: Dressed up like a million dollar trouper.  
  
Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper. (Shute pulled on Trent's arm. "Um, Trent, could-".) Peasants: Super duper!  
  
(Shute wiped the sweat off of his brow.) Bevis: Come let's mix where Rockefellers  
  
Walk with sticks or um-ber-ellas in their mitts. (Shute waved his arms. "Please stop!") Puttin' on the Ritz. (Shute growled madly.)  
  
Random Villager 1: Have you seen the well-to-do  
  
Up and down Park Avenue- (Noah tried his hand at stopping the song. "Um, sir?") Random Villager 2: On that famous thoroughfare  
  
With their noses in the air?  
  
(Doha raised his finger in protest. "Uh, we're still here, you know!") Trent: High hats, and arrow collars,  
  
Bevis: White spats, and lots of dollars,  
  
(Coa took a deep breath. "SHUT UP!") Random Villager 1: Spending' every dime  
  
For a wonderful time? (The triplets shrugged. "We give up."  
  
Aresia ruffled her dress in anger. "By order of the-")  
  
Bevis: If you're blue and you don't know where to go to  
  
Why don't you go to where roy'lty sits?  
  
(Aresia yanked her hair so tightly that the skin on her forehead turned red. "He interrupted me!") Bevis: Puttin' on the Ritz.  
  
Trent: Different types of wear all day coat, pant-a-loons,  
  
And cut away coats for perfect fits? (Aresia-hiime waved her hand at her pet song dragon. "Sterling, you stop this music right now!" Sterling glared at his princess out of one eye, but did nothing. He was a song dragon, he lived for the music!) Trent: Puttin on the Ritz.  
  
Random Villager 3: Dressed up like a million dollar trouper Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper. ( Villagers: Super duper!  
  
(Aresia approached Shute, her face turning purple to match her dress. "Make them be quiet!") Trent: Come let's mix where Rockefellers  
  
Walk with sticks or umbrellas in their mitts.  
  
Bevis: Puttin' on the Ritz.  
  
(Shute flung his hands out to his sides. "Well, what am I supposed to do?")  
  
Random Villager 3: Dressed up like a million dollar trouper (Aresia pulled her hair again. "I don't care, do something!") Random Villager 3: Trying hard to look like Gary Cooper. Villagers: Super duper!  
  
Bevis: If you're blue and you don't know where to go to  
  
Why don't you go to where fashion sits?  
  
Trent: Puttin' on the Ritz  
  
(Shute rubbed his head. "Um...") Bevis: Puttin' on the Ritz  
  
("I don't know what to do...) Trent: Puttin' on the Ritz  
  
("You have magic, Shute, use it!"screamed Aresia.) Bevis: Puttin' on the Ritz (Shute sighed again. "Fine.")  
  
Trent: Move... (Trent placed his hand delicately on Aresia's wrist. The princess jumped in surprise.) Trent: I want you to MOVE! ("WOAH!"  
  
Trent began flinging Aresia around like a kite of a string, obliviously trying to "dance" with her. Shute, Coa, Doha, and Noah couldn't help but laugh.)  
  
Bevis: Gotta dance! Gotta- (Bevis then grabbed Shute's arm and began flinging him around, and not unlike Aresia, he wanted Bevis to let go then and there!) Bevis: Dance!  
  
("Lemme go!" Bevis was spinning Shute around so quickly that he couldn't see; he head was becoming light, and he began to panic. "LEMME GO!")  
  
&&&  
  
"KABOOM!"  
  
&&&  
  
Prince John, along with a few royal palace guards and one royal tracking warg, saw the explosion from the prow of the ship. It was a unnerving sight as to the fact that it was a weird mix of gray and magical blue...  
  
Zero rushed to the front of the ship, his heart racing in terror. "What happened?"  
  
"We've got a lead..." Prince John tucked his scepter into the sleeve of his robe. "Full forward! We've found them!"  
  
"Already?" Zero looked out to the horizon; it must've taken a lot of magic to create such an explosion, he thought.  
  
Every muscle in his body shook at the thought. "Shute..."  
  
&&&  
  
Shute had thrown Bevis back about 39 feet into the fish pond, spooking the dragons and immediately ending the song! Bevis sputtered about underwater and finally jumped out, running full force towards the startled boy.  
  
"I'll teach ya ta throw me, boy!" Bevis held back his fist, his hand glowing in-  
  
Wait.  
  
Shute bounced onto his feet. "Bevis! Bevis, look! Your hand!"  
  
Bevis lowered in hand... In was glowing, and in a very familiar blue pattern...  
  
"What.... What's all this?" the boy shuddered, now noticing that both his hands had the same glow. Other villagers, including Trent, flocked around him...  
  
"Bevis..." Shute pointed to the fish pond behind the boy. "Bevis, concentrate on that rock in the middle of the pond..."  
  
Bevis turned to see a small rock sitting smack dab in the middle of the pool, nothing much to look at and all to easy to look over. He was too scared to do much else, so he concentrated on the little rock in the pool of water. It was just a little algae covered rock... Nothing to get all excited about, I mean, it wasn't like it was a strange color or anything... It wasn't shaped like anything either, it was just a plain and simple-  
  
"Bevis, the wa'er!"  
  
Trent's voice snapped Bevis out of his self induced trance, and immediately the floating, glowing rock dropped down out of the air and onto Bevis's head. "OW!"  
  
"Bevis, that was levitation!" Shute stood in front of Bevis, his eyes wide and his entire body glowing with a sort of primal energy. "You know what that this, don't you? You Used Magic!"  
  
"Magic..." Bevis felt a giddy feeling running along his stomach, like a wee fairy doing a jig on his entrails. He, a simple little peasant boy, a potato farmer no less, actually did magic-  
  
"SHUTE!"  
  
The auburn one looked up just in time to see an arrow headed straight for his back! Almost instantly, his hand jutted forward and unleashed a magic burst that disintegrated the arrow in midair!  
  
Coa didn't need to think about what had just happened; one of Daddy's flying clipper ships and a very angry looking Uncle John was enough to tell him-  
  
He faced the crowd of astounded villagers. "RUN!"  
  
The peasants panicked and ran in different directions, with several villagers grabbing the triplets and spiriting them off with them. Shute snatched Aresia's arm and pulled her along with him, knowing that there was NO way this Sayla-look-alike could keep up with him. Sterling roared loudly and swiped his wing at the ship, which dodged his blow as if it were alive.  
  
"Camille!" The warg responded to Shute's call and started following him, only having to run a small lope to keep up with the comparatively slow boy. "Take the Princess and run!"  
  
A whimper rang from Camille's jowls. #Where, puppy?#  
  
"Anywhere safe, just go!" Shute, in an amazing fit of strength, actually THREW the princess onto Camille's back and, in the same movement, completely turned tail and began running in the opposite direction. Camille would have followed him if she had not been bred for obedience; she kept going in the same direction, leaving Aresia to scream and cry her heart out for nothing.  
  
&&&  
  
"Don't hurt him!" Captain was obviously referring to Shute and the apparent attempt at his life!  
  
"I'm not gonna hurt him if he keeps blowin' up everything I throw at 'im!" answered Prince John, his voice ringing of a light, withheld accent. "Try it again!"  
  
"Hey, PJ!"  
  
"What the blazes?"  
  
Zero was barely able to see Shute over the rail of the ship; he was obscured in a cloud of dust and practically invisible. "You're chasing after me, leave the villagers alone!"  
  
Baku suddenly pushed Zero aside, nearly jumping onto the railing of the ship himself. "SHUTE, HURRY, GET OUT OF THERE!"  
  
Zero felt his own anger seeping through to the surface. His eyes went from neutral to angry. "You were involved in this!"  
  
Baku also switched to angry mode, a vein popping out of his forehead. "You stay out of this, home wrecker!"  
  
"Home wrecker?!"  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
Too late, Prince John had just fired a whole volley of arrows! Both Zero and Baku, and also Captain rushed forward with their hands outstretched. "NO!"  
  
But this time, Shute didn't blow them up; instead, he changed the direction of the wind and blew all the arrows back towards the ship! Not only did the bottom of the ship get littered with arrows, but everyone on the ship got a face full of dust!  
  
Zero was the one whose vision cleared up first. He spied Shute running off, following Sterling's footprints once again. He couldn't let him get away, not again!  
  
&&&  
  
"SHUTE!"  
  
"Don't look at him!" screamed a voice inside Shute's head. The boy kept running as fast as he could despite the fact that his calves were killing him...  
  
What was that? Up ahead, it was... TREES! There was a forest, and it was a huge one at that! Perfect, he could run into the forest and hide from John, Captain and Baku would find him, everything would be-  
  
"GECK!" A blue rope had just tied itself around Shute's legs and was not letting go! The young boy tripped and hit the ground with enough force to knock the air out of him; when he looked up, Zero was hovering just above him.  
  
"Come on!" Zero held out his hands, ready to take him up and away, away from Captain, away from Neotopia, away from Nana-  
  
"NO!" Shute held him hands outward, not knowing what would happen. Two huge boulders tore out of the ground beside him and struck Zero from either side, throwing him backwards and into a tree. He leapt up and stumbled into the forest glade, his legs too sore to run but his mind to strong to give up.  
  
&&&  
  
"Hold your fire, don't hit the spirit trees!" Prince John waved his hand, and the archers lowered their bows. Captain jumped out of the ship and raced towards Zero, who could barely stand after getting bashed into the trees.  
  
Zero felt Captain's strong arms lifting him out of the dirt. "What happened?"  
  
"Shute attacked you." Captain had a way of responding in the worst way to a question without realizing it; Zero nearly broke into tears at the words.  
  
"What?" Zero collapsed to his knees, leaving Captain to try and hold him up. "But I'm trying to help him!"  
  
"Help him by what? Separating him from everything he's known for his whole life?"  
  
"Don't you start, Captain!" Zero forced himself to his feet, jerking himself out of Captain's grasp. "Shute needs to learn to control his magic to keep himself and others from getting hurt, I told you that!"  
  
"Sure he does."  
  
Zero was once again appalled by Captain's outrageous outbursts (well, maybe he was mentally exaggerating, but this is Captain we're talking about). As the ship flew in closer, Zero swung his hand forward to end the conversation. "Captain, I stand by what I said. This is for his own good!"  
  
The ship was just above Captain's head now; the military Gundam reached upward and plucked an arrow out of the hull of the ship, one of the arrows intended for Shute's heart. "Right."  
  
Captain threw down the arrow at lightning fast speed and clipped Zero's foot with it; the Winged Knight jumped back, startled.  
  
"For his own good."  
  
Captain walked back to the ship while Zero stood there, his eyes transfixed to the arrow...  
  
&&&  
  
"Itai... Itai..." Shute fell onto the ground, the benevolent spirit trees cradling him with their roots. "This isn't fair, this isn't fair..."  
  
"Shute?"  
  
"Nan da?"Now was one of the few times he was happy to hear his name called today; Aresia tripped out of the woods, the upper layers of her gown torn away by thorns and twigs. "Aresia-hiime!"  
  
"Oh, Shute, are you alright?!" The princess hugged Shute tightly and refused to let him go. "Did they hurt you?"  
  
"I'm just really sore..." Shute's head fell into her lap. "I really need to sleep."  
  
"Shute, no, you can't sleep yet, we're in-" Aresia heard a light snoring ringing from her lap. "Shute?"  
  
Too late, he was already out like a light. Aresia tried shaking him, but he would only grab onto her arm and cling to it like a tick.  
  
"Shute, wake up!" she desperately cried. "You can't sleep, we're in..."  
  
The horrible sound of stretching bow strings caught her attention. She gazed upwards to she ten topless men on horses aiming bows at her; it took her a few seconds to realize, though, that there was no delineation between man and horses.  
  
"Centaur territory."  
  
DONE! Oo, busted by the man/horse, oo- HETTIE! STOP EATING MOMMA'S SHOE! HETTIE! (smack (surprised yelp) NO! Stupid dog... Anyway, where was I?  
  
I released some early information that this chapter would include two songs. I lied. The other two I had planned weren't well known enough to include, so (snap) scrapped 'em. Sorry about that, Devo and obscure cartoon fans who would recognize "Workin' in a Coal Mine" and "Where There's a Whip (There's a Way)"- HETTIE, NO! (smack) NO!  
  
Lots of emotional stuff going on here; I know, it's rough, but it's plot developing, and I, myself, am proud of the job I did putting the emotions down on my document on the computer. (sigh) Hettie, what are you chewing on NOW- oh, it's just a plastic coat hanger. Okay, you can chew on that, no problemo...  
  
Heeheeheeheehee... Pigsbottom, Hahaha... Hogwarts, anyone? Hahaha! I called it Pigsbottom, hahahahaha....!  
  
Some would say that Captain's emotional outbursts are "out of character" in this chapter. You know what I say, I say "HECK, NO, THEY'RE PERFECTLY IN CHARACTER!" because Captain was all like "I will NOT be defeated!" in the last episode of the first season and I'm like "ALL RIGHT, GO CAPTAIN!". He has the emotions, hun, and I think it's sad that in most fics, Captain's just kinda there and just spouting lines like "Maybe we should investigate this"or "maybe we should ask him about that"to advance the plot without really showing any personality or character development or doing anything! Either that, or it's a humor fic, and he's always either confused or annoyed, and I'm sick of it! The only fanfic I've seen that do Captain really well was Neoyami's "Simple Kind of Life" on , kudos to Neoyami, and even in THAT it's a Shute fic and he's just sorta kinda there! I'm still waiting for silence865 to write that Captain fanfic, you know (You'd better be working on that thing, 'cause I'm waiting for it, believe you me!). I'm sick of it! CAPTAIN NEEDS SOME LOVE TOO! (deep breathe) Lemme rest for a minute, throat's sore...  
  
I hope I did okay on the Cockney accents, it's hard to do when the only real exposure you've had to them are old Monty Python videos and Parker- heavy episodes of Thunderbirds.  
  
That's all I can think of now- HETTIE! Excuse me a minute, I'm done here, you can go home now. HETTIE, WHAT HAVE YOU GOT?! HETTIE! 


	5. Near Everyone Goes Temporarily Insane

The Power of Music and Other Things

I want to thank Cybertoy00 for reviewing my story with the long, in-depth reviews I love to read. As a note, I would like to say that I love it when people write reviews that are longer than "omg, that fic s col, lololol P". You need to explain what was good, what was bad, and what needs to be corrected for me to really respect you as a reviewer. Just saying real quick. THANK YOU CYBERTOY! Oh, and if you're trying to suggest a fanfic or something in your reviews, tell me, 'kay? I'm thick like that. Okay, chapter summary: Everything comes together as the story comes to a halt... Or does it?

"What treachery is this?" A large Clydesdale centaur boomed as his bow quivered on its string. "Humans are not allowed in centaur territory!"

"Please, sir, don't shoot, he didn't know!" Aresia flung herself over Shute's unconscious body and clung to him. "Don't hurt him!"

"What twaddle," said another, roan centaur with fiery red hair. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse!"

"Please, we're just trying to get away from my Uncle John!" Aresia held onto Shute's over-shirt even tighter. "Please, please, don't shoot us!"

"Wait! Angus!" The roan centaur sidestepped towards the Clydesdale, his bow still at the ready. "She looks royal. She has the jewels around her hands."

Aresia gasped and glanced at the back of her hands. There were a multitude of jewels running from her shoulders down to her fingers that she had worn since she was a baby, and since they were magically attached to her skin, she couldn't take them off! She'd given herself away as a member of the royal family (and if there was one thing centaurs hated, it was any form of governing rule). Now she was sure to get it!

Angus the Clydesdale leaned forward on one hoof, closely examining Princess Aresia. Angus had a broad face with strong eyes, a blunt nose, and just a touch of facial hair. One would expect for a centaur to have a long, dread locked mane of unruly hair, but his was surprisingly well-kempt and short (lightly curled and a very pleasant shade of auburn, not unlike Shute's). His flat nose sniffed Aresia's scent with the delicacy of a rabbit.

He slowly stood up and withdrew his arrow, the other centaurs copying. "She's of royal blood. What does it matter?"

"The other humans spoke of the magical boy she was traveling with." The roan waved his hand towards Shute. "That might be him."

Those words struck a cord in Aresia's ears. She shot straight up, not minding the leaves and twigs that had stuck to her dress. "Other humans? You mean the villagers?"

The roan centaur, whose name was Aiden, nodded. "They ran into the forest screaming about being attacked by the king."

"My Uncle John! That's who they were screaming about!" Aresia screamed, accidentally sounding a bit excited to say so. "You see, he's after my friend, Shute! He's a strong wizard, and he might not survive if he stays in Lacroa!"

Angus trotted forward and nudged the sleeping Shute with his foot. "You're running away from Prince John?"

"Of course!" Once again, the Princess sounded a bit too eager to answer. "You're not against my uncle, are you?"

"Against him? HA!" Angus waved a whole herd of centaurs into view of the princess. "He ordered half of our forest destroyed just so he could have more room to grow potatoes!"

"Any enemy of his is a friend of ours!" whinnied Aiden.

The other centaurs raised their bows to the sky in salute. "Brotherhood of the Centaur!"

Aresia was so happy she couldn't help but clap. And all this time, Shute was asleep, happily oblivious to all around him...

&&&

"Everything's gone wrong... He's ruining everything!" Prince John floated back and forth on the prow of the ship, the ever-faithful Zero standing beside him. Faithful as he was, though, Zero still had no idea what he was talking about.

"Um, sir?"

"Causing riots, ruining villages..." John ran his hand down his face in frustration. "And making Aresia _Think _for the first time in her life."

"Um, sire? Hello?"

"Just like a boy to ruin a perfectly good vegetable-"

Zero gasped, offended both at the Princess being called a vegetable and the statement that Shute had "ruined" her. "SIRE!"

Prince John turned to Zero, a vein in his forehead threatening to explode. "Zero, let me tell you something! As soon as I find that ignorant boy, he will get so harsh of a beating that it will send his MOTHER to the doctor's!"

Zero jumped and shivered under the fearful gaze of the king, who had been growing more and more fidgety ever since Shute had escaped to the woods. "Uh... Uh, uh..."

"I expect you to back me up on this, Zero!" John shook himself straight, rubbing his scepter protectively. "You're the only person here who could protect me from these other two numbskulls." He jabbed his thumb towards Baku and Captain's cabin in the middle of the ship.

Zero, again, had no idea what he meant, but he did know that he was now shaking so hard that he could hear himself. He inched himself around and away from the substitute king. "Um, I think I'll just... check on the guys..."

Zero mumbled a spell and was instantly right outside Captain and Baku's door; he didn't like using teleportation spells because they were usually too long to recite, but this was an emergency. He was about to take a deep breath to release some pent-up tension when he began to hear voices.

"So, what exactly happened to you and your sister?" Captain's voice! And it was coming from... His room. Duh.

Zero turned around and tapped the door open by a tiny crack. He could make out Captain's back, but that was all.

"Me and Hanako were taken from my family when we were very young." Bakunetsumaru!

Zero just Had to hear the rest of this story. He pressed his ear to the door and held his breath.

"We were sent to train in bushi-do, the both of us, at my master's dojo. It was our mother's idea; she wanted us both to be samurai, it was a family tradition. We tried not to show it, but we were miserable at that place." Zero so wished he could see Baku's face. "My two older sisters, Aneko and Hoshiko, knew that we hated it there, but they didn't know what to do about it. We couldn't tell Mother, it would've broken her heart."

Zero had a soft squishing sound, a sign that Baku was moving his arms. "My mother finally found out just how hard we had it there when she came to visit, and me and Hanako both had huge cuts in our arms."

"From what?" asked Captain.

"From training. Hi-mahoumaru-sensei spared no mercy in training."

"How long had you been there by that time?"

"Two years."

Zero gasped, as did Captain.

"It took her that long?"

"And it hit her like a runaway wagon." Baku took a deep breathe. "That night, my sisters thought up their plan. They hid Hanako and me in a basket in the back of their cart and told Hi-mahoumaru-sensei that we had run away. He sent the entire dojo out to look for us, and while they were gone, we packed our things and left. That what I planned to do with Shute, but..."

So Baku was behind all this! Zero saw the parallels in his mind but refused to acknowledge them right away; it was too painful.

"Was it really that bad, Baku?"

"It wasn't terrible..." Baku paused for a moment. "We always had enough food, and our own beds to sleep in at night. But we were so young... Just a little bit younger than Shute is now. It wasn't that we were being treated badly all the time... It's that our mother wasn't there to see it when we were."

Zero couldn't take it anymore; he flew onto a ceiling rafter and buried his face in his knees, too ashamed of himself to cry. He heard the cabin door opening and Baku and Captain walking out. Captain was, once again, asking questions that were difficult to answer. "Why don't you just tell Zero what happened to you? You could stop this if you just told him."

Baku shook his head. "He's a stubborn and devoted fool, Captain... He wouldn't understand..."

Captain patted Baku's back as they tracked out the door. Zero dug his face back into his lap.

"Is that how they think of me?" Zero thought, rubbing his eyes to mask the tears. "A blind follower of whoever's in charge? A mindless pawn?"

He sobbed into his cape before a little voice somewhere in his head sounded off. They didn't say it, it said. You thought of that on your own...

&&&

It began with a light patting sensation on his palm. He wanted to react to it, but he was too tired... It stopped, and his lifted hand dropped to the ground. His legs began to hurt again by that time, and he winced in pain. The patting feeling moved to his cheek, and it was much harder this time. His eyes wrenched themselves open...

Hooves.

"Ah!" Shute tried to pull himself up, but could only manage to prop up his torso as his legs hurt too much to move. "UMA! TASUKETE! Tasu-"

"Shute, it's all right!"

Shute didn't quite realize who had spoken until she flung herself around his shoulders. He blushed, being reminded of Sayla. "Hello!" He looked up and saw the various centaurs, mostly male, some female, staring at him. "Nan da?"

"They're centaurs, Shute!" Aresia squealed, shaking Shute by his shoulders. "They saved us!"

"Centaurs? But-" He was about to spout off "they're not real", and he would have if he were not his father's child, for Mark Matthew Marxworth happened to be the highest ranked Dungeons and Dragons player in all of Neotopia. Shute had grown up reading every single game manual that had ever been published for that weird little game, and was all too comfortable with the idea of mythical beasts. He smiled widely. "Okay, works for me."

Aiden bowed on his left forehoof. "I am Aiden of the Heaviehoof brotherhood."

Angus also bowed, but on his right. "And I am Angus. It is good to meet you, rebel rouser."

Shute blushed. "Rebel rouser?"

"The way you have stirred the peasants against the king? You have strengthened our cause in a way we centaurs never could!" Angus and Aiden bowed together. "You are truly worthy of our praise."

"The brotherhood welcomes you all!" the other centaurs monotoned (Shute immediately thought "Gundivers" due to the mostly male overtone of the crowd).

"Please, guys, you don't think I did any of this junk on purpose, did you?"

Aresia, Angus, and Aiden were all taken aback; the other horse people gasped and murmured in shock.

"Wha... What do you mean?" Aresia asked, her face growing a bit pale.

Shute, for whatever reason, started to grow angry. He stood up (or tried, he fell right onto his knees again) and began shouting "Whaddayamean, 'what do you mean'? You think I was trying to rebel against Prince John?!" Shute tried to stand up again, failing miserably. "Look, the guy's a jerk, but he could zap me with that staff of his until I turn into a cinder! I'm not about to disagree with him without Captain around! Everything that's happened so far-" He grunted as he tried to push himself up. "Has (grunt) happened (grunt) by (grunt) accident!"

He finally gave up and collapsed into the dirt, his head hurting very badly from getting so worked up. Aresia hovered over him and stroked his head while the centaurs huddled a ways away from them.

"So, everything... That has happened to us, Shute? Your magic, my uncle getting mad at us, Baka-flaba-laba sending us away?"

Shute nodded. "There was no way I could have, nor did I, plan it."

Aresia shrugged, the worry in her face disappearing like snow in August. "Oh well. The ends justify the means." (Talgeese had said that before ("Why is everything reminding me of the guys?" Shute thought.) "What's done is done, Shute."

"Hello?"

Aresia gasped and stood up, picking up Shute's arm with her. "I heard Coa! COA, IS THAT YOU?!"

"I'M DOHA!" Doha bounced into view from the middle of the centaur bunch, beginning followed by his brothers and a HUGE man in equally HUGE armor.

"Shute, yeah!" The three boys tackled Shute lovingly; it hurt his legs so BAD, but Shute couldn't tell them that. "We found you, we found you, we found you!"

"What about me?!" cried Aresia.

"Oh!" Doha stood up and hugged Aresia around the middle. "We found you too!"

"He helped!" Noah pointed to the armored man. "He's a rebel, too, and he helped us find you!"

"Oh, Hagard, hello!" Aiden loped to Hagard's side and put his hand on his armored shoulder. "Hagard has been here for quite a while now."

Angus nodded in agreement. "We allow any fellow hater of Prince John into the forest... We probably should have told you that straight away, sorry."

Shute felt the sweat dripping down his temple. "How many of you people hate this guy?!"

And everyone around him answered, "Pretty much all of us."

Shute sighed, because it seemed the more he was around Lacroan people, the worse they got. He felt like a proverbial Alice in Wonderland... And just like Alice, at this point, he was ready to leave. "Hagard, pick me up, my legs won't move."

Hagard thought for a moment. "Okay." The gigantic man lifted Shute into his arms. "Where to?"

Shute thought of the only person who would treat him in a semi-descent fashion. "Take me to Camille."

&&&

"Oi, i's Shute!"

The multiple villagers answered Bevis's call. "Oi!"

Shute winced as Hagard placed him back on his feet. "Oi yourselves, I'm still tired..."

#Puppy!# Camille bounded to Shute's side and began licking his face, whimpering all the while. #Are you all right, puppy? Did they hurt you?#

Shute leaned on the massive warg's shoulders. "I really feel like I need to lie down."

"No no no, Shute, you haf-ta com' an' see this!" Bevis pulled Shute over to a small, three year old girl. "Alrigh', Maggie, show Shute 'ere wha' you can do."

Maggie smiled and clenched her hands together. Her fingers glowed in a blue light-

"Magic!" Shute cried.

"'Ookit!" Maggie opened her hands to reveal... A perfect, dark blue sapphire.

Shute stared in amazement. "No... way..."

"I's true!" Bevis pulled Shute along some more, showing the other villagers to him. They had all turned magic! Some of them were helping the trees grow, some were digging trenches in the ground without touching it, some where even changing into animals! "You see, since you touched me wi'h that magic o' yours, I decided that if I touched somebody with my magic, it'd make them magic to, righ'?"

"Well, it obviously worked..." Shute giggled.

"And now, we're ready to beat the pants offa that jerk of a king-"

"WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH!" Shute waved his hands violently, faster than should have been humanly possible. "What are you talking about?! Beat the pants off him? What are you talking about?!"

"We're magic now!" Bevis sneered. "We're an even match! We can rebel and storm the castle and take the throne!"

"Storm the castle!" screamed Hagard, wielding a giant axe (everything was giant on this guy).

"YEAH!" answered the villagers.

"NO!" Shute stretched himself to make himself seem tall, the adrenaline causing the pain in his legs to go away. "What, have you guys gone crazy?! We can't take on Prince John, he's got an army of archers and guardsmen-"

#And other wargs!# Camille barked. #With riders!#

"And warg riders, and what have we got? You people have gone insane!" Shute took a deep breathe and pointed at Bevis. "Bevis, anata no gaki (you brat), I would have expected better of you, I mean, you're a teenager!" Shute blinked. "Wait, woah, contradiction." He turned to Princess Aresia. "Aresia-hiime, you're young and level headed. How old are you?"

"I'm 12, I'll be thirteen by midnight tonight-" And suddenly Aresia's face began to glow, her smile widening and her eyes twinkling.

Shute's chest tightened, the color escaping from his cheeks as it always did when he was scared. "Uh oh, I smell a plot twist..."

"Sterling, announcement stance!"

Sterling, who had been asleep in a big pile with his daughter, Mercury, suddenly awoke and picked Aresia onto the top of his head. He lifted her above the crowd of startled villagers. "People of Lacroa, I have an announcement! I, this night, shall be turning thirteen years old!"

The villagers took on an "Oh, okay" attitude and began a scattered applause. Shute breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, false alarm."

Aresia pushed out her chest, glowing like she was magic herself. "And, as such, when I turn thirteen, the rule of the kingdom shall official fall on me!"

The villagers gasped and began talking amongst themselves. Finally Trent raised a finger. "Um, excuse me, bu' could you repeat tha' in a more... Simple words?"

Aresia flung out her arms. "By midnight, I'll be Queen Aresia!"

And with that, the peasants, centaurs, and half the forest erupted into thunderous applause (which Shute happily joined).

&&&

A faint roaring sound wisped past John's ears. "What the blazes?"

He looked about, trying to find something that might help him figure out what had happened, but only Captain was there on the bow with him. It was late, and apparently Captain had decided to take some time to watch the stars.

"Oi, you there, did you hear that?" asked the prince.

Captain didn't answer. His mind was in other places.

&&&

Shute personally lifted Aresia off of Sterling's head (with Camille's help, of course). "Oh, Aresia, this is the best news I've heard all day!" He hugged the tall girl with all his might. "Finally, something going good for once!"

"Yes, now you'll be able to stay here forever!"

Shute froze for a bit, not letting go of Aresia. "Wait, what?"

The Sayla-look-alike pushed Shute back a little ways so she could see his stunned face. "Well, without Uncle John there to torture you, you could live in the castle with me forever!"

Shute blushed. "Um, Aresia, I think you missed the point somewhere..."

"Oh, we'll be so happy, Shute!" Aresia hugged him again, squeezing the air out of the boy. "Oh, we'll live together and eat together and share the same room and when we're old enough we'll get married and-"

Shute's momentary hope was crushed the minute he heard the word "married". She jumped out of Aresia's arms, just now hearing the music in the background. "WHAT?!"

"Oh, think of it, Shute..." Aresia swooned, her hands clasped over her left cheek. "It will be wonderful..."

&&&

(Aresia suddenly gets all tough, Pat Benetar style.)

Aresia: I'm gonna be a mighty queen,  
So enemies beware!

(Bevis stepped forward, lifting a lock of Aresia's hair.)  
Bevis: Well, I've never seen a queen like you,  
With quite a mess of hair.

(Aresia slapped his hand away.)

(The princess grabbed a bunch of golden flowers from a spirit tree and fanned them behind her hand, mimicking her upcoming crown.)  
Aresia: I'm gonna be the main event  
Like no queen was before.

(She fell back onto Mercury's head, who was whistling out an airy tune to the melody.)  
I'm brushing up on looking down,

(Shute stood in front of Mercury's head waving his arms. "Aresia, please, calm down!)  
I'm working on my ROAR!

(Sterling suddenly appeared from behind Mercury and roared directly at Shute, knocking him into a pixie nest.)

(Shute tried his best at imitating Zero, but in a harsh way rather than to play along with the song. He groaned as he picked pixies out of his clothes.)  
Shute: Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing.

(Aresia snatched her brothers from the ground and lifted them onto Sterling's majestic head, Mercury falling behind to whistle her part.)  
Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!  
(Shute: Aresia-hiime, we're got a lot of junk to set straight, now, you're all messed up-)

(Noah dropped down from a vine, right behind Shute's back.)  
Noah: No one saying do this-  
(Shute: No one was telling you-)

(Noah sprung back up, Coa taking his place.)  
Coa: No one saying be there-  
(Shute: Stop that right now!)

(Coa slipped away just as Shute went to knock him down, Doha dropping down and landing on Shute's back.)  
Doha: No one saying stop that-  
(Shute: Look, what you don't realize...)

(Doha swung back up, only to return with all four of the Lacroa siblings on one vine.)  
Aresia, Coa, Doha, and Noah: No one saying see here!

(They all jumped off at once and ran past Shute, leaving him in their dust.)  
(Shute: Now see- HEYAA!)

(Aresia leapt onto the back of Aiden the centaur and rode around on his back, riding sidesaddle like a perfect little lady.)  
Aresia: Free to run around all day!

(Shute stumbled after them, not having much strength left to keep up with a centaur.)  
(Shute: Look, that's definitely out!)  
Aresia: Free to do it all my way!

(Shute panted and stooped for breath while Aresia passed by him, riding atop what looked like a giant red ostrich with smooth, shiny feathers (a giant phoenix.) He pointed at Aresia, realizing that she needed talking to just like any bad kid did.)

Shute: I think it's time that you and I  
Arranged a heart to heart.

(Aresia pinched his little cheek playfully.)  
  
Aresia: Queens don't need advice  
From future husbands for a start.

(Shute growled.)  
Shute: If this is where the spoiled brat is going,

Count me out!

(Aresia's phoenix glared at him out of one eye, rearing his head back to give him such a peck!)  
Out of service, out of Lacroa,  
I wouldn't hang about.

(Camille lifted Shute onto her back and loped him out of reach of the phoenix's bill. He sighed as he struggled to balance.)  
I don't want to be married to a teen!  
  
Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(As Sterling and Mercury played, many more creatures poured out of the Lacroa forest; Ents like from Lord of the Rings, unicorns, leucrottas a la Dungeons and Dragons, and a bunch of stuff Shute couldn't even place. Aresia grinned widely, loving her power and influence greatly.)  
Aresia: Everybody look left!

(The creatures ran to the right, looking left over there shoulder. Shute barely managed to escape getting squished by a passing minotaur.)  
Aresia: Everybody look right!

(And it happened again, only backwards! Camille yanked Shute out of the herd and threw him unceremoniously to the ground.  
Aresia: Everywhere you look, I'm  
Standing in the spotlight!

(Shute gritted his teeth.)  
Shute: Not 'til midnight!  
  
Villagers: Let every creature go for broke and sing!  
Centaurs: Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing!  
Other creatures: It's gonna be Queen Aresia's finest fling!  
  
Aresia: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(Aresia and her brothers were lifted onto the shoulders of the centaurs.)   
Aresia and Triplets: Oh, I just can't wait to be queen!

(The were pulled higher, placed on the very tops of the tree-like Ents.)  
Everyone: Oh, I just can't waaaaaait ...

(And finally, there were back on Sterling's head, possibly the highest place in the Kingdom.) Aresia: To be queen!

&&&

Aresia raised her hands over her head in triumph, her chest heaving. "So... (pant, pant) what do you think, Shute?"

No response. In fact, no Shute.

"Shute?"

PHEW! Did you know I had to cut this chapter in half just so it'd fit in the story! The original draft of this thing was like, 21 pages! And I STILL wasn't done! So I dissected it. Second chapter's later.


	6. The Story Comes to an Ending

The Power of Music and Other Things, Chapter 6

The story wasn't supposed to go on this long! Ai-ya! Anyway, this will be the one to wrap it up... Mostly. I might have to do an epilogue... Oh, did I ever mention that I got the Princess's hair color wrong? Her hair's gray, and I thought it was green. No word on what her name is, though. I just took Aresia from this message board I found once, apparently it's the name of the princess from some Gundam series, I dunno...

Shute had deserted the crazed villagers and anonymous monsters with Camille and escaped to a quiet part of the forest. There he rested, taking comfort on the broken stump of a petrified tree. Camille licked him tenderly while Shute gazed at the stars.

"These people are crazy," Shute sighed.

#I know.# Camille stopped licking Shute for a second so she could talk better. #All humans are crazy. Except you.#

Shute sighed; he knew Camille didn't mean what she said by the tone of her... Um, growl, but it was nice that she was trying to cheer him up. "All those people make me out as some sort of hero, and I didn't do squat!" Shute sighed again. "Intentionally, anyway... I feel so lonely."

#You miss your litter?#

"Litter?" Shute pondered for a moment. "Oh, my family! Yeah, I miss them a bunch. I miss Nana and Mom and Dad..." He cast his eyes towards the ground. "And Zero and Baku... And Captain..."

He sighed and turned onto his back, stretching and listening to the cicadas screech about him. "When I first met Captain, we would just spend hours lying on our backs looking at the clouds." He concentrated on one red star in particular, having to look at it out of the corner of his eye (because if he looked directly at it, it would somehow disappear). "I wonder what he's doing now..."

He clasped his hands and closed his eyes in prayer. "Heavenly father, I ask this of you; let me know if Captain's okay..."

&&&

"It's nighttime, Captain. Go to bed." Zero succeeded in making Captain look at him, at least, but nothing else. He had been leaning on the side rail of the ship for hours, his eyes never wandering from the sky. He just felt so... cold...

"Captain..." Zero placed his feet on the ground beside Captain and wrapped him in one of his wings. "I'm sorry about what happened with Shute. I never dreamed that any of this would happen..."

Captain stopped looking at the stars and instead looked into Zero's eyes. It was amazing; not unlike Zero, his eyes were shaped in an odd, hexagonal shape that made them look always alert, yet childishly naïve and innocent. Zero couldn't bare to face him; he pushed his face into his palm and shook it back and forth. "I thought it would be good for him. Staying here in Lacroa, learning to control his magic; I thought...

Zero sighed. "I don't know what to think anymore. Prince John has gotten so... so maniacal, I don't even trust him anymore. But I can't disobey my king!" The winged one finally took his face away from his hand, his eyes slightly red from lack of sleep. "You two must hate me now."

"We don't hate you."

Zero startled; he didn't expect to hear Captain talk. "You don't?"

"No." Captain stated everything matter-of-factly, as if it was something Zero should have already known. "Bakunetsumaru and I were mad at you, of course, but you are still our friend. That does not change. We are just worried, about Shute and you both."

Zero needed to hear that more than he thought he did; he pulled Captain into a hug. "Thank you for listening."

"I am used to it. Everyone always come to me to talk." Captain pushed himself out of Zero's hug and held his arms (he was freezing). "Shute and I used to talk for ages about the most trivial things. Shute almost had me believing once that butterflies were once called flutter-byes, but they became butterflies because of a misprint in a newspaper.."

Zero giggled; that sounded like something Shute would say!

"I hope he's all right." Captain got a sudden chill and shook intensely, causing Zero to pull back his wing.

"Are you all right, Captain?"

Captain nodded. "I'm just cold."

Zero flapped his wings once, and he was airborne. "I'll leave you out here; come to bed soon."

Too late, for Captain was already lost again in the stars. He was shivering, and he knew exactly why he was cold; Shute was always beside him, hugging him and standing close to him, keeping him warm. But, ever since he had gone, Captain just felt like little pieces of him were breaking apart from the inside, like he was being eaten up from the inside.

&&&

(As sure as Captain knew he was alone, he took a deep breathe.)

Captain: Can... Anybody... find me...

(Somewhere out in the Lacroan forest, the same song was floating through Shute's head.)

Shute: Somebody toooooo love....

(Captain shook his head; Shute used to sing to help himself cope, why couldn't he? He tried his best to put his soul into the song (he succeeded wonderfully.)

Captain: Each morning I get up, I die a little.  
Can barely stand on my feet!  
(Shute: Take a look at yourself in the mirror) Captain: Take a look in the mirror and cry.  
(Captain: And cry, yeah yeah) Shute: Lord, what you're doing to me.  
(Shute pounded the rock (tree, whatever) beneath him in anger, not at God but at himself.)

Shute: I have spent all my years in believing you,  
But I just can't get no relief, Lord!  
  
(Shute: Somebody, somebody) Captain: Somebody, ooh somebody,

(Somehow, without realizing it, from different corners of the kingdom, Captain and Shute had achieved a perfect harmony.)  
Shute and Captain: Can anybody find meee...

Captain: Somebody to love?  
  
Captain: I work hard (Shute: He works hard) Captain: -every day of my life,  
Captain: I work till I ache my bones.  
At the end (Shute: At the end of the day)  
I take home my hard earned pay all on my own!

(The young boy could feel tears running down his face, but since the only other person there was Camille, he let them fall.)

Shute: I get down on my knees  
And I start to pray,  
Till the tears run down from my eyes, Lord!

(Me: How fitting.)  
Shute: Somebody-

Captain: Ooh somebody!  
Captain and Shute: Can anybody find me-

Shute: Somebody to loooooove?  
  
(Shute: He works hard) Captain: Everyday (Shute: Everyday)

Captain: I try and I try and I try!  
Shute: But everybody wants to put me down!  
Captain: They say Im goin crazy!  
Shute: They say I got a lot of water in my brain!  
Captain: Aw they ain't got no common sense  
Captain and Shute: He's got nobody left to believe in  
  
Shute and Captain: Oo ooo oooo OOH!

(Captain and Shute both paused for breathe, knowing that there was a guitar solo in this part of the song. Both were tense with energy; Freddy Mercury was intense, and it was not easy to do music like this! Unknowingly, they had somehow joined a type of bond that went beyond physical reach; they, without knowing or acknowledging it, knew exactly what each other was doing.)

Captain: Somebody! (Shute: Somebody, could somebody-)  
Shute and Captain: Can anybody find me

Captain: Somebody to love?  
  
Captain: Can anybody find me someone to love?  
Got no feel, I got no rhythm;  
I just keep losing my beat.  
Shute: I'm alright, I'm alright  
I aint gonna face no defeat.  
Captain: I just gotta get out (And they both started singing: ) of this prison cell!  
Captain and Shute: Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!

(The word "Lord" carried on far into the land, echoing far and wide and silencing the whole kingdom. Captain took a break to breathe once again.)  
  
Shute: Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
(By now Captain was ready.)

Captain and Shute: Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Find me somebody to love  
Shute: Somebody (Captain: Somebody), Shute: Somebody (Captain: Somebody)  
(Shute: Find me) Captain: Somebody  
Both: Somebody find me someone to love.  
Can anybody find me somebody to love?  
  
(From here, the song got a little of rhythm, and the two Neotopian males simply went with their hearts.)

Captain: Find me somebody, somebody, somebody to love.  
  
Shute: Find me find me find me find me find me  
Ooh somebody to love!

(Captain felt like his insides were about to snap; the emotions were too much!)  
Captain: Anybody, anyway

(Shute was feeling the same way on the other side of Lacroa; he was in self-induced pain, he knew it, and he hated the fact.)  
Captain: Anybody find me-

Shute: Somebody to-

Captain and Shute: LOOOOOVEE!!!!!!

&&&

Captain could stand it no longer; he collapsed onto the rail, water streaming from his eyes. For the first time in his life, he was crying. And not just a mild set of tears, no, he was full of sobbing and choking for breath, unable to see out of his own eyes.

&&&

Shute bunched himself into a ball while Camille cradled him to her belly. He, too, could feel Captain's pain and was wailing into a tuft of warg fur.

"Find me, find me, find me..."

&&&

The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, the air smelled like stale Froot Loops, and Baku couldn't have been more miserable. He couldn't sleep last night; Captain's singing (although good) was loud enough to wake the dead, not to mention keep him up all night. He stumbled along the side of the ship, leaning on the guardrail for support and not really watching for anybody in his way-

"GAH!" The next thing he knew was he was facedown on the floor and wide awake. "Nani ka? What happened?!"

He propped himself after he heard a loud groan; he saw out of the corner of his eyes had he had actually tripped over Captain, who had fallen asleep crying last night. His eyes bugged out in his typical fashion. "WHAT THE-?! CAPTAIN?!"

Captain, who had also not gotten a good night's sleep (for obvious reasons), groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and subsequently fell right back down. "Reporting for duty, sir..."

"Captain, what are you doing out here?" Baku jumped up and pushed Captain upright with his shoulder. "How could you fall asleep outside, you're not a-"

And that's when he noticed something was wrong with Captain; the way his eyes were tinted pink, and the fact that he was breathing in short, staggering breathes. He recoiled slightly and held his Neotopian friend at arms length.

"Woah... Captain, have you been crying?" Baku jumped again as Captain nodded. "Woah! I didn't know you could cry!"

"Out of the way!"

Baku was once again struck to the ground by a mysterious force, this one flying past him and knocking him down instead of him doing otherwise. It took until Baku hit the deck to realize it was none other than Prince John, who had perched himself on the rail and was surveying the area.

"Pardon you," he spat, pushing himself back onto his feet. He glared at the next person who passed him, Zero, in pure anger.

"Uh..." Zero smiled weakly. "Heh heh heh. Sorry about that..."

Zero fluttered away, taking little comfort in the fact that he knew that Baku wasn't mad at him specifically, he was just mad. He joined his king on the rail, joining the search into the trees below. "What's wrong, sire?"

"They've been here..." he hissed, his voice gurgling in an evil, detached way. "Look, at the trees, they're making sure we don't see the ground."

The spirit trees, living beings in there own right, were slowly weaving and thatching their branches together to hide the ground from the king. Possibly because of signs of a campout.

"Wow." Zero jumped to notice that Baku and Captain were on his opposite side, watching the trees move underneath the royal floating ship.

"Fascinating," said Captain.

"The spirit trees are compassionate, but they're stupid." John flared his royal robe behind him as he flew back into the hold of the ship. "Their plan is obvious; the boy has gone north, to the Dragon Cave! Plot a course!"

"TO WHERE?!" Baku screamed in his head. The last string of his plan had just fallen apart; Prince John KNEW where the cave was!

"Be quiet, Baknanana!" Prince John tightened his scepter-ly grip. "Thought they'd keep something like that a secret from me, the little twats, they've got another thing coming."

Zero gulped in fear and slowly floated backwards into Captain's shoulder. John, right at that moment, looked positively... scary. His eyes wild, his hair disheveled, and his mouth split into an evil grin... Creeeee-pyyyyy....

&&&

"Bite him."

Shute awoke with a stinging pain in his arm. He screamed and woke to find a small rabbit clinging to his arm by its teeth. He roared in anger and threw it to the ground below him. Or rather, to the bird below him...

He was sitting on top of one of Lacroa's ostrich-like phoenixes, its sleek feathers making him slip left and right on its slim back. Aresia rode across from him, watching him with a motherly concern. He shook his head and held the place in his arm where that STUPID rabbit had bitten him. Around him were all sorts of other "rideable" monsters; other phoenixes, horses, Camille, mules, all with Sterling and Mercury looming overhead.

"What happened, Aresia?" Shute asked, holding his arm where the rabbit bit him.

"There was no other way to wake you, honey." Aresia clasped her hands together. "Camille said you had a bit of a cry last night, honey."

"Don't call me hone-" Shute was suddenly shaken awake by his shock. "Wait, how did you know that?!"

"I'm a channeler. I only had to touch someone who could understand her and I could hear her clear as a bell." Aresia reached over and touched Shute's arm. "I know you're a little tired, honey, but don't worry. Sterling's all rested up, and we can go on to the dragon's cave, and everything will be fine."

Shute closed his eyes and sighed; things were really getting too complicated to be called "fine". A tree branch rubbed against his head as he walked past, and the way the leaves and branches cradled him, it was almost as if it was his mother's hand, stroking his forehead in a worried sort of way...

Shute nodded in defeat. "Hai."

"Forest ends here!"

Bevis's call pulled Shute out of his stupor; the tree line stopped at an exact point, and from there it was a clear shot across a dead stretch of land into the foothills of the mountains of Lacroa. Inside one of the mountains was a large hole, almost looking as if it were punched into the ground by the fist of a giant. A terrible stench hung in the air; a sulphurous smell mixed with bad meat and ashes. Dragon stink. Camille jumped back from the front of the line to Shute's side, despite the fact that a REALLY pregnant woman sat on her back.

#I'll protect you, puppy,# she growled.

"Camille, there's no dragon in that cave," Shute whispered back. "It only smells like it."

"Besides, no drag'ns ain't ev'r attacked 'umans b'fore," said the pregnant peasant. "The King'd take off the'r 'eads."

Shute smiled at the pregnant woman. "You understand?"

The woman blushed. "No, but ma baby does. I channel."

Shute giggled while sharing a blush. That was the last thing he expected. "Okay." He straightened up and kicked the phoenix's side, urging it onward (half of his family lived in Southern Neotopia, so he'd practiced this by riding pigs). "Let's go! Into the cave!"

"Onward!" The Princess yelled. "Your queen commands you!"

As the villagers hollered and charged forward, Shute was hit with a sudden relief. He had forgotten, Aresia was 13 now! She was the official Queen of Lacroa (or, at least, she was until her dad got back (which he probably never would, the way the kids talked about him). Just thinking about it made him miss the triplets; he kicked the phoenix and began weaving through the crowd of peasants, checking out every animal he saw.

"Coa! Doha?" he shouted as his agile phoenix wove in and out of traffic. "Where are you? Noah!"

Shute heard Camille bark from behind him. #The little dragon!#

"Mercury!" Shute doubled back and joined the tiring Mercury at her side. The little dragonet walked by her daddy's flank, little wings folded like a proper little royal pet. The triplets waved from their high perch (Shute was about eye-level with their feet, for Mercury was mostly legs), the giant knight Hagard riding behind them on a black centaur.

"Hi, Shute!" they squeaked in greeting. Coa leaned over slightly in Shute's direction. "So what're you gonna do in the dragon's cave?"

"I dunno..." Shute rubbed his head. "Probably take a nap. You?"

"EAT!" The triplets rubbed their bellies with the precision of synchronized swimmers. "Yum yum, belly fillers!"

Shute giggled again; he liked giggling, it felt good to laugh. He looked about for Camille, and saw she was a little ways away, still housing the very pregnant peasant. "Hey, Camille, can you take another passenger?!"

Camille barked back. #Sorry, my limit is two!#

And with that, Shute and the other couple of people who could understand where up in hysterics. Finally, things were going right! He finally felt peaceful and at ease; nobody was going to mess anything up now. He opened his eyes and looked back to Camille; she was underneath the shadow of a storm cloud, poor thing. Oh well, guess it would be good to...

Shute then noticed that the storm cloud had solid, definite edges. It blocked out the sun, leaving a glowing rim around the black shape of...

A SHIP!

"PRINCE JOHN!"

The peasant's heads shot upwards as a volley of arrows rang down from the royal clipper ship. There was a panicked, collective scream as each individual mount ran from the raining arrows, the unluckiest few just narrowly missing getting clipped in the back (this is a G rated fic, for crying out loud! Nobody's gonna get shot!).

Sterling gave out one of his trumpet sounding roars, lifted Mercury in his mouth (picking up the triplets in the process) and raced towards the Dragon Cave. Shute doubled back; he HAD to get to Camille!

&&&

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Bakunetsumaru screamed. "You're gonna kill them!"

"That's the point!" John flung his hand forward. "FIRE!"

The king's unthinking bowmen fired another volley, but this time took no effort to aim; arrows smacked into each other in midair and fell to the dead ground, completely harmless. The few that did manage to escape the original shooting moved too slowly to even graze the graceful centaurs and swift phoenixes, while Sterling's scales reflected everything done to him.

"Zero!" Prince John uncouthly grabbed the back of Zero's cape and threw him out of the ship. "Go find the Princess!"

Captain stepped forward, his emotional fatigue replaced by righteous anger. "You can't do that!"

"He has wings, knucklehead!" Prince John raced to the other side of the ship, commanding more archers to fire ("And AIM this time, varlets!").

Captain grabbed Baku's arm. "Come on, we have to find Shute before Prince John does!"

"Ryoukai!" Baku immediately leapt out of the ship, followed swiftly by Captain.

&&&

"Princess!" Zero dodged a centaur that stampeded blindly past him, carrying a few small children on her back. "Princess, where are you?!"

"Shute, what are you doing?"

"Shute?" Zero followed the Princess's voice; Shute was magically lifting the pregnant peasant onto his phoenix and throwing himself onto Camille's back.

"HEY, JOHNNY BOY!" he auburn one waved his hands while focusing his magic into his fingers, making an odd, ethereal blue flag of energy wave above him. "LEAVE THEM ALONE! IT'S ME YOU'RE AFTER!"

What was this kid doing? Zero screamed at the top of his lungs, "SHUTE, NO!"

A blue bolt of energy shot into the ground beneath Camille; she ran forward, carrying Shute with her. As he ran past, Shute pulled Aresia off of her phoenix and carried her with him towards the dragon cave.

"Shute, put me down!" Aresia commanded.

"Can't!" he quipped. "You're a channeler, and I need the magic!"

Princess- oh, wait, I mean "Queen"Aresia gasped. "For what?!"

"For this!" Shute held his hand over the ground below him.

BOOM! A huge cone of rock exploded from the ground and punched straight through the middle of the flying ship! It drifted to the ground and collapsed upon itself, dozens upon dozens leaping from the wreckage!

Aresia gasped again, her face going white. "Shute, what did you do?"

And yet, Shute didn't see what he was looking for. "Where's Captain?"

"Camille, run!"

Camille, just as she had been taught, took the orders of Queen Aresia. #Running!#

John fell to the ground, hovering just above the dust and gaining just enough momentum to fly after the two children.

And, naturally, Zero was appalled. "Sir, what are you DOING!?" He raced after his king, his wings having to work extra hard to keep him up from so close to the ground.

Shute looked behind him; he could barely see Prince John chasing him past Aresia's wild hair. "Oh, crud, he's still after us!"

"What now?" Aresia moaned.

Shute turned his eyes to the mountains. "We go up! Come on, Camille!" He kicked her hard in the flanks (she barely felt it, no worries) and charged her towards the mountains, not far from the mouth of the abandoned dragon cave. Camille narrowly avoided another beam of magic energy.

"Uncle John's gone mad!" cried Aresia.

"Gone? Been mad, hiime!" Shute pushed Aresia behind him as Camille began bounding up the rocky slopes of the foothills.

But John was gaining on him, and fast! He had to think of something that would stop him! Um, uh... Let's see, what would Captain do- um, okay, freeze and withdraw- wait, Captain never said free-

FREEZE HIM! Shute pointed his finger to Prince John and concentrated on the color white; ice flew out of his fingertip and began smacking John in the head. Shute laughed. IT WAS WORKING-

"Ow! It hurts, stop it!"

Aresia wrenched her arms out of Shute's palm and rubbed her breastbone. Shute pulled Camille to a stop. "What are you talking about?!"

"You used too much magic!" Aresia shook her head and winced in pain. "It hurt!"

Shute slapped his forehead. "YOU PANSY! Our lives are at stake here!"

"You got that right!"

Aresia and Shute jumped in shock. Prince John was aiming a weird, white energy ball at them. "I'll finish you now! MAGIC LEECH!"

He chucked the ball at Shute and Aresia, the ultimate anti-magical attack that would drain them both of their collective powers, rendering them helpless and basically dead on the spot! In was 4 feet away from them when Captain jumped in the way, extended his shield, and stopped the blast!

The young boy's face split into a joyous grin. "Captain!"

"But- but- but, magic leech!" John stuttered in shock. "That should have drained you of every last ounce of your magic powers!"

"I don't have magic," Captain growled. "Now, you hurt one more hair on Shute's head" He swiveled his body around and pointed his gun at John's heart. "And yours goes rolling off of your shoulders!"

"GO CAPTAIN!" Shute bounced off of Camille and flung himself onto Captain's back. "My hero!"

And of course, Captain blushed, which isn't good for your concentration. John looked on with an "o......kay" sort of look before shaking his head. "If only you were as obedient as you are cute. Oh well."

AND HE FIRED AGAIN!

Shute and Captain braced themselves for the worst. The auburn-headed boy could feel his stomach tightening, every inch of him feeling as if it were on fire-

KABOOM!

His eyelids flew open to a marvelous sight; magic energy was shooting out of Captain's hand, through his beam saber, and into Prince John! The wave of glowing blue was the width of a tree trunk, and its light outshone everything around it!

But wait, Captain didn't have magic...

As the energy faded off, Shute could finally see his best friend in normal light; he was shining blue with hints of gold, with the fire of his Soul Drive burning in his eyes.

"Channelers don't have magic..." the thought hit him like a wave at the beach.

Captain practically read Shute's mind at this point; he braced himself, shield forward, while holding Shute in an arm lock behind him. "Get him."

"HAI!" Shute fired a magic bolt of energy out of his fist; the energy went through Captain's body and out his shield, knocking John off the face of the mountain!

Camille barked in amazement and fear like dogs often do while Aresia shook in her royal skin. Shute smiled meekly at the both of them.

"You guys better head to the dragon cave."

Captain stepped backwards, putting himself between the cliff and Shute. He finished Shute's statement with, "This battle isn't over."

&&&

"Everybody lay low!" Aresia leapt off of Camille's back and trotted into the depths of the foul-smelling cave, falling into a flock of peasants. "Uncle John's outside, and he knows we're here!"

"Then wha'is layin' go gonna do?!" yelled an angry peasant man.

"I don't know! Just- everyone be quiet! Your queen commands you!"

The triplets, once again forgotten in the huge crowd of people, shuddered and cast their eyes to the little sliver of light that was the cave's entrance.

"Whadda ya think's goin' on up there?" whimpered Noah.

Coa shook his head. "I don't know..."

&&&

Zero watched from afar as the little blue twig that was John fell from the side of the mountain, overshadowed by a huge blast of power from Captain and Shute.

"HA ha!" he boldly laughed, waving his sword in contempt. "Served him right!"

"Ha HA!" laughed a bold voice below him. "Served him right!"

"What the deuce?" Zero looked down to see Baku doing that weird little spinny-eye thing he did to taunt people. "Oh, it's him."

As he looked back upwards, a big thing of blue rushed towards his eyes- IT WAS GONNA RAM HIM!

"YAH!" Zero panicked and swung his shield out in front of him, preparing for the worst. Yet before Prince John could impale Zero right out of the air, a flaming X shot from the ground into his stomach, sending him to the skies.

Zero stopped flinching just in time to pluck Baku out of the sky, holding the Musha Gundam in his arms like a baby.

Baku smirked smarmily. "My hero."

"Don't start with me, Bakunetsumaru," Zero purred while returning the smirk.

Baku turned his head over Zero's shoulder, and his eyes jumped out of his head. "HE'S COMING BACK!"

Zero swiveled to see John making another pass at them... But he was far away enough... He held on tightly to Baku.

"Zero et Bakunetsumaru doivent partir de cet endroit et retourner à la terre au-dessous de moi!"

They disappeared from the air within seconds and reappeared on the ground, Baku having latched himself to Zero's shoulder in the process, whimpering like a puppy in a lightening storm.

"Yume desu..." cried Baku.

Zero dropped him back onto the ground with a THUD and an "OW!".

"You baby."

Zero refocused his eyes on John; he was zooming back to Lacroa's mountains. "He's going to attack Shute and Captain again!"

Zero pointed his sword at the still shaken Bakunetsumaru. "We can't let that jerk lay one hand on them, come on!"

Zero began to fly away before he noticed Baku wasn't following him. He turned around and looked into Baku's eyes; triumph, pride, relief...

"You've been waiting for me to say that, haven't you?" he mumbled, relaxing his muscles.

"Since this whole thing began, nakama," said Baku, nodding once in that weird way that he did when he talked.

An explosion rocketed them back into focus; time to pound John the Jerk into dirt!

&&&

"You little rat!" John waved his hand and sent a volley of flaming arrows right at Shute and Captain. Shute concentrated as hard as he could, and Captain responded by firing bolts of ice that intercepted each and every arrow, automatically disintegrating every one. John growled and screamed out, "Fine, then! We'll fight ice with ICE!"

John sent a wave of ice out of his scepter. Shute stretched out his hand- wait, fire wasn't coming out! Captain pulled him out of the way before the ice hit them both, so instead the rock behind them was turned to ice.

They soon landed on the flat ground, with Captain still holding Shute by the arm. "What's wrong?" Captain had to speak loud for Shute to hear him; Shute was pulling his hair in anger.

"I forgot! I can't make fire, I can only control it, like that guy on X-Men!" Shute whimpered in fear.

"Oh no..."

Captain pulled Shute into his chest as John slowly flew into view, holding his scepter before him. The king's hair flew about his head in wild curls, his thick robe flapping about him through the force of his magic. His entire body glowed with an unearthly magic force, a deep red instead of a normal blue. With one swift flick, John changed his scepter into a spear and held it above his head, gearing up to throw it through Shute's stomach.

"And then there was one..." Prince John chuckled and pushed back his wild hair, succeeding only in pushing back a few bangles of blonde locks which bounced right back into his face. "I have always wanted to say that..."

Captain pushed Shute behind him and spread his arms, the small boy cowering behind his back. John laughed at Captain's pathetic attempt to protect his best friend. "This spear is pure magic; it will go right through the both of you like a knife through butter."

Captain gulped and stepped backwards, his Soul Drive lighting up his chest. "Soul Drive, activate..."

"You can't do anything to me!" John gurgled, pointing the spear at the both of them. "With my brother gone, I am invincible!"

John changed the spear back into a scepter. "You will know what it's like to feel like a helpless little baby when I'm through with you, you little rats!" The manic man's eyes turned blue as the air around the two Neotopians turned cold. "Ils meurent de la glace!"

A solid wave of ice flew towards Captain and Shute. They latched onto each other and held on, hoping that, even if they did die, it wouldn't hurt-

"Un mur de flamme protège des ennemis de Zero!"

&&&

The entire cave flashed in a purple light for two seconds, leaving the peasants in panic. Noah, Coa, and Doha screamed and dug themselves into Camille's fur.

"Wha's goin' on ou' the'e?" Bevis shouted, talking to himself but talking LOUDLY out of fear.

"I be' tha' little red-headed boy's been toasted by that scurvy Prince John!" yelled a peasant woman.

The thought of Shute being fried and left for dead left Aresia cold; she stood up and announced to the congregation. "Subjects, your queen has had enough! We are marching out there, we are going to fight, and we are going to DEFEAT! MY! UNCLE! JOHN!"

A great roar of approval rose up from the crowd, and they raced out of the dragon cave in droves, the Queen Aresia leading them from Sterling's great head.

&&&

As the magic smoke slowly cleared away, Shute and Captain were able to stop coughing and see who it was that saved them...

The dancing wall of flame accentuated every inch of his armor, and his red cape glowed in an unearthly orange way. But, strangest of all, their were two waving masses of magical energy pooled about his shoulder blades, shaped in the form of a heart and reaching from the savior's neck to his feet. It couldn't have been...

Shute and Captain both gasped. "Zero?"

Zero chuckled and spread his magical wings, showing off their immense size and grandeur (they stretched about 9 feet on either side of him and were wider up and down than his body was tall!). Individual "feathers", five of them on each wing, undulated like water as the wind tossed them about, the central mass of the wing being a beautiful mix of blues, purples, greens, and reds. And the best was not that Shute could see them, but that he could see Through them, like it wasn't even there! He could clearly make out Zero's back on the other side!

(This is SOOO a good fan art shot if any of you readers can draw his scene. To better understand what Zero's wings look like, see this link: http:www.hadanite-marasek.de/weblog/2003-04-07.png and think of them looking a little more like wings and less like tentacles.)

"Yeah, Zero!" Bakunetsumaru skidded in front of Captain and crossed his swords while Zero waved down the firewall.

"But how?" Captain asked in wonder.

Zero chuckled again. "You didn't think I could only do wind spells, did you?" Zero's eyes suddenly gained a fierce appearance as he lunged his sword towards Prince John. "You vile fiend! How dare you use an attack like that on a helpless child!"

"He's not helpless, you ninny!" John swung his scepter dangerously close to Zero's face, fluttering just above his head. "Now shut up and get on my side!"

"Never!"

&&&

"Where is everyone?"

"Not here, obviously."

A few merry giggles leeched out of the dragon cave.

"Alright then, let's go find them. Wherever they are."

"Portez-nous à l'endroit des citoyens de Lacroa."

Poof!

&&&

"Now Zero, calm down..." John seemed to cow under Zero's outburst and began sinking back to ground level. "You don't know what you're saying-"

"I BLOODY WELL KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING!"

Baku's eyes bugged out of his head in shock. Shute covered his ears and shouted "DUDE!" while Captain startled and stepped back.

"I can NOT believe it took me this long to see it!" Zero flipped his sword about in his hand and began jabbing John in the chest with the hilt. "You are a worthless, insane, power hungry, rude, obnoxious, greedy, selfish, most abusive tomnoddy that I have ever had the displeasure of working under! How could anyone leave you in charge of a kingdom like Lacroa is beyond me!"

"Yatta!" Shute cheered. "Zero no shiite!"

Zero flipped his sword back to its correct position and held it beneath the hollow of John's neck. "I have had enough of being blindly obedient to the likes of you! I'll have you know that if I had not been so wonderfully trained under your brother, the REAL king" (John flinched at the mere implication of King Davis) "You would have been tossed out of a window with violet rose petals halfway up your nose!"

Baku couldn't help but let loose a triumphant squeak of a laugh.

Zero peered over his shoulder at Shute. "I should've known better than to trust Shute with the likes of you, but-"

BOOM!

The next thing he knew, Zero's hands were tied behind his back, his sword and shield lying helplessly on the ground. On either side of him were Baku and Captain, and behind him was a suffocating Shute, the four of them bound by a magic rope spell.

"You should've known better than you turn your eyes off of the enemy!" John gloated, laughing evilly while Zero blushed with shame.

"Nice goin', Zero," Baku growled.

"You tried, and that's what matters..." squeaked a little voice from behind Zero. It was obvious that he was being squished to death among the three Gundams from the hoarseness of his voice; indeed, even Zero was having trouble breathing. "I'm sorry, Zero..."

"Don't speak, Shute, you're wasting air." Zero gulped as John raised his scepter once again.

"And, once again, there was then-" John startled. "Wait, no, let me think a minute..."

"This man is crazy," stated Captain.

"No offense, Captain, but 'duh'," grunted Shute.

"Shute, no talking!" Bakunetsumaru hissed.

"And then there was one... Again..." John's eyes once again turned blue. "Oh whatever, you're dead, goodbye."

"While bonny good King Davis leads the great crusade he's on-" came the song from the distance.

"What the deuce?" John turned around to see a flood of people and two song dragons slowly moving towards him, singing the refrain from "Appox on the Phony King of Lacroa". As they finished the first verse, the grand army stopped full force a full 39 feet from Prince John's nose exactly, proceeding to simply stand there...

And do nothing...

But stand there.

Zero blushed once again, this time from embarrassment. "Guys, I want you to know that Lacroa was never this crazy when I lived here."

"Craziness just seems to follow us, doesn't it?" Baku asked.

"That's a comforting thought," Captain stated.

"By the order of the Queen of Lacroa!" Aresia shouted, "I order you to let Shute and the other Gundams loose!"

"'Ere 'ere!" yelled the peasants.

John smirked with an arrogant laugh accompanying it. "You think that a bunch of peasants and two dragons-"

"BARK!"

John sighed. "And a middle-aged warg."

"(growl)."

"Can defeat an all-powerful supreme king?"

"We can try!" Aresia flung her arm forward; a signal! "FIRE!"

Chunks of ice, fire bolts, jets of water, gemstones, bits of the ground, magical bolts, all powered by the force of the wind, whipped towards Prince John with all the force the peasants together could muster.

Of course, they're peasants, so (no offense) their attack moved about as fast as an inexperienced punch. John hovered in the air awhile, waved his scepter, and flung all the little chunks of nothing back at the peasants. The non-prepared peasants cringed in pain as they were pelted with golf-ball sized pellets of everything they had made, Sterling and Mercury making the most noise with everything bouncing off of their scales and making a high-school-band-room type racket.

"This is ridiculous." John turned back to the Gundams and Shute. "Hold, please."

He pointed his palm to them and clenched his fist; suddenly, the magical rope binding them started getting tighter!

"Oh no!" Captain gasped.

"Help!" Shute cried.

&&&

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CASTLE?!"

"Lessee, Sterling's missing, your kids are missing, John's missing-"

"Well, let's go look for them!"

"Portez-nous à l'endroit des citoyens de Lacroa."

&&&

Prince John began flying towards Aresia, his eyes glowing as fire began pouring out of his scepter. "No one becomes anything higher than me while I'm in charge!"

Aresia jumped as her uncle pulled back his hand, gearing up to cook her like a pig. "STERLING!"

"Eeeaaa!"

Mercury had jumped up and grabbed John around the middle in her mouth and had pulled him to the ground! As he tried to fly away, Mercury stomped on him over and over with her tiny, yet scaly and heavy feet. He grunted out between tramplings, "You-" STOMP! "You-" STOMP! "stupi-" STOMP! "dragon!"

Mercury lifted into the air and flew into the dirt, aided oblivious by Prince John's favorite levitation spell. She squealed in pain and began squealing like a piglet while John laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha ha-" STOMP!

Sterling roared into John's ear while smacking him with his claws, the peasants swarming in and smacking John at close range while he was helpless.

Meanwhile, the Gundam Force was leaning on their last breathes, Captain (not "needing" air to survive) trying valiantly to break the bonds that were constricting him and his friends. He grunted while Zero, Baku, and Shute were struggling to breathe, Shute's pale face going red with lack of air.

"Shute, I wanna say I'm sorry." Zero tried hard to breathe without pushing into Shute's back, which would rob the little boy of the air he needed to survive. "I should've sent you home, I'm so sorry..."

"Shh..." A few meager pants. "No talking..."

And suddenly, the space behind Zero went soft and limp. Zero's chest ran cold. "Shute? Shute, wake up-"

And suddenly, Baku's shoulders slumped back, accompanied by a soft moan. Zero's eyes constricted in fear. "Bakunetsumaru-"

And then he couldn't breathe back in, robbing him of his voice. He grasped Captain's hand and squeezed it, and (thank God) Captain knew what Zero was trying to "say".

Captain switched off his air intake valve and screamed, at the top of his voice, "HELP!"

&&&

A strong voice came from the distance. "Help!:"

"What the deuce?"

&&&

"Shute!" Aresia scrambled down Sterling's back and scrambled onto Camille's rushing past the peasant crowd and to the Gundams, jumping off prematurely and tugging at the magic rope. It wouldn't budge. Camille also clamped her teeth around the rope and pulled with all her might, whimpering all the while.

"Oh, Zero, hang on! I'll think of something!" Aresia shuddered at Zero's breathe rattled and the mighty Gundam passed out. The princess stammered in shock and ran away.

"Aresia, come back!" Captain yanked on the rope again, getting nothing. "Baka hiime!"

Aresia didn't get far, however, before she was staring down the center of John's scepter. "And now you die!"

Aresia cringed and covered her eyes-

And nothing happened.

When she opened them, the first thing she saw was the army of peasants all bowing on one knee, with her triplet brothers running out of the fray, yelling something unintelligible. She looked upward to see John being held in a spell-binder, his scepter knocked to the ground. As a well muscled hand picked it up, she followed the arm until-

She was looking into the face of her savior.

"DADDY!"

She flung herself into her father's huge and shirtless chest, hugging him with all the strength her little arms could muster. Davis was a kind-looking man with a huge beard of green hair. He stood at least 6'11", with a nice, squared-off face and a strong chin. He pushed his daughter backwards, ruffling his red ermine cape as his thick arms bulged. "Aresia, what's going on here?"

"Um, excuse me, sir?"

Davis turned around to see Captain weakly waving at him. But it wasn't Captain who caught King Davis's attention. "ZERO!"

Davis began walking towards Zero, the magical bonds immediately disappearing with a blink of Davis's eyes. "Zero, what happened to you?"

As the rope fell away, Zero, Baku, and Shute all slumped to the ground, half-dead. Davis lifted Zero by his shoulders with the effortless ease of lifting a piece of paper. "Zero, what the blazes happened to you? Poor thing!" Davis slung Zero under his arm and flew into the air, hovering before the sobbing soul that was his brother, John. "John, what did you do to my Winged Knight?!"

"He got in the way, Davy!" John sniffled. "I was tryin' to be a good king, I swear, but he and that boy came and messed it all up!" John snorted in a noseful of tears before being able to talk normally. "I was being a good king, I swear it, Davy!"

"I bet..." Davis sighed and slapped his forehead. "Where's Camille? CAMILLE!"

Camille yapped happily and rolled over at Davis's feet, panting and begging #Pet me! Pet me, please, papa!#

Davis gave Camille one little pat on the belly before snapping his fingers. "Take him home to the castle, Camille."

"But Davy, I don't like Camille!"

"Too bad!" Davis patted Camille's head. "You go on, good girl." He pointed to Baku, Shute, and the panicking Captain. "Sorcerers, could you please get them to the castle?"

A tall man in a long, hooded robe appeared before Captain, holding a long staff above the Gundam's head. "Portez ces personnes au château."

And that was all Captain knew...

&&&

Zero didn't know much about what happened when he woke up; he knew that he was dizzy, he knew that he could barely see, and he knew that his arms and legs felt so heavy he couldn't move. Even his wings would barely twitch at his command, the long extensions of himself lying limp over his body. He groaned and tried to find a recognizable face, only finding a big mass of green over his forehead. A flash of white appeared on the green face; smiling teeth, Zero guessed.

"Zero," hummed the soothing voice of King Davis. "How are you?"

"Sire..." Zero managed to whimper out a word before his throat collapsed on him, a coughing fit seizing him. The mighty King Davis leaned over Zero and hugged him, patting his head and instantly making the coughing go away. "I guessed you dead..."

"I'm fine, Zero." Davis placed his hand behind Zero's back and (with the help of a little magic) pushed him to his feet. "It's me who should be worried about you. You were half dead when I brought you here, you know."

"Where's here?" Zero moaned, holding his head as his eyes came back into focus. He began to recognize his surroundings; gray stone, covered in tartans and drapes, but the ceiling was comfortably low.

"The Recovery Room. I brought you here with your friends; you've been asleep for two days."

"Two days!" Zero was scared awake, jumping to his feet and flying 19 feet into the air before he heard King Davis's laughter. Grr.... He should have known....

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" King Davis let loose another heartily bellow of laughter. "But- but it was the only way to wake you! You've only been out for an hour!"

The King had a strange sense of humor, Zero admitted to himself, and came to rest again on his concrete pedestal of a recovery bed once again. The King gave Zero a soft pat on the back. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Zero! You've grown so much; you look like a blue version of your father!"

The Winged Knight blushed; it was true. "Yes, sire..."

"Your wings are in terrible shape, though." King Davis picked up one of Zero's wings (he could do that, you know, he's magic) and held it up to a lit crystal on the ceiling. The individual strings on magic which made up his wings were a tangled mess, with bundles of maana spread unevenly through the wing, one of them as big as Zero's hand. "When was the last time you brushed them out properly? Come on, I take better care of my beard that this!"

Zero blushed even redder. "I'm sorry, sire..."

"Come on, don't call me 'sire', Zero!" King Davis grappled Zero around the shoulders. "Remember when you were training as a page under me? How old were you?"

Zero couldn't stop blushing; he'd forgotten how... Touchy-feely the king was. "I was about five..."

"You were five years old, weren't you?" Davis smiled brightly. "You used to call me 'Mr. King Daby Man' because you couldn't say the letter 'v'!" Davis laughed heartily. "Oh, you were cuter than a monkey, you were!"

Zero mumbled to himself, "I'm sure that's a compliment somewhere, sir..."

"Oh come on, Zero, you're acting like a teenager!" Davis snuggled him even closer, close enough to the point were Zero caught one of the wings on the side of his head in Davis beard. He struggled to untangle himself as Davis ranted on. "You and me used to talk like this all the time, remember? You and me were best friends, you know. You should remember, you were there!"

Friends!

"Where's Bakunetsumaru?" Zero stood up straight and looked about; there were signs that there were people there in the past, but the room was empty! "Where's Captain? Where's Shute?"

"Oh, them!" Davis pointed out the door. "They said they were leaving, so I let Sly lead them to the Dimension Room."

"WHAT?!" Zero began to bolt out the door, but was stopped once again by King Davis's voice.

"Zero, wait! Where are you going?" Davis finally stood up on his own feet and held his arms up in confusion. "Aren't you staying here in Lacroa with us?"

Zero, Davis joked later on, finally remembered something he was trying to get him to. He had said that he was staying in Lacroa... But his friends were leaving... But they... And he...

"I... I did say that, sire..." Zero turned around. "But I..."

"If something needs to be said, Zero," said the king, sounding and looking remarkably serious. "Say it to them."

It was odd; 12 years, they had been separated (Zero had switch masters when he was 13), and King Davis could still read his mind. Zero humbly bowed. "If you so wish it."

Zero flew out of the Recovery Room, his knotted wings carrying him just a few feet above the floor. "I just hope I'm not too late..."

&&&

"Bye guys..." Shute hugged each of the triplets as they struggled not to cry, him included. "I promise to visit again."

Coa reached up and kissed Shute on the cheek; the typical Lacroan goodbye. "We'll miss you."

"I don't wan' you to go!" Noah cried, latching himself onto Shute's leg. "Can't you stay here?"

"Don't start that again, kids." Baku touched Shute's shoulder. "Come on."

"Wait!" Aresia ran into Shute's arms and squeezed him tightly. "I'm sorry, Shute, what could have been did not become what it would!"

Shute had no idea what she had said, he just knew she was upset about it. He gave her a soft hug back. "Hey... It's not like I hate you, huh Aresia?" He patted her tightly bunned head. "Maybe someday."

Shute retreated back into the arms of Captain, who gave him a quick nuzzle with his uncovered face before slamming his face plate back over his mouth. Baku signaled the five sorcerers. "We're ready to go."

Camille whimpered as Shute waved one big final goodbye to every-

"WAIT!"

Zero burst through the door to the sorcerer's chambers, stopping just outside of the magic circle to catch his breath. Shute called out to him and jumped forward to meet him, but he was stopped by Baku.

"What are you doing here?" Baku could feel a pinch of anger somewhere inside his chest.

"I-" Zero began to shiver, looking Baku straight in the eyes. He lower his head and sunk down onto one knee. "I have come to beg your forgiveness."

Baku's eyes rammed out of his head. "WHAT?!"

The 5 sorcerers gasped and murmured to each other in Lacroan (French). Knights were never to lower there heads to the ground in such a way! What was going on?!

"I have betrayed our friendship and lead us all into near certain death." Zero closed his eyes. "I realize what I have done. I hope it in your heart that you may forgive me, though I know you will not accept me back...." He gave one last, hopeless sigh. "I deserve such."

Captain clung to Shute with loose fingers while the young one sniffled. He could feel his Soul Drive whirring in his chest; not as fast as it did with Shute, but enough for him to notice it. Baku himself, even, was feeling remorseful... But he dare not show it.

As the Musha Gundam turned away, Shute ran past him and into the kneeling knights arms, clinging to his shoulders and crying in a stifled, quiet sort of way. Zero stroked his back and kissed his forehead. "Je suis désolé..." (I'm sorry....)

"Shute, we have to go!" Baku roared.

"NO!" Shute dug his fingers into the cracks in Zero's armor. "I'm not leaving without him!"

"Huh?"

"But, Shute, the whole thing, with John, and the song dragons, and your family-" Aresia stuttered before Shute interrupted.

"Zero is my family! He's my friend, and I'm not gonna abandon him here!" Shute clung to Zero even tighter, even though the strong knight was trying to push him away.

"Shute, please..." Zero couldn't bare to look at the boy; he turned his eyes away as he spoke. "I don't deserve your mercy-"

"Duh, you don't deserve it!" Shute grabbed either side of Zero's head (I've got Zero's head, Zer- GRR! Charon! (smack) don't get distracted!) and forced him to look him in the eyes. "It wouldn't be mercy if you deserved it!" Shute mumbled under his breathe, "That was, like, a Mark Twain quote, but anyway-"

Shute laser-focused into Zero's eyes, not looking away and, at the same time, not able to be looked away from. Zero could see them both clouding up like he was about to cry, but his voice remained remarkably solid. "Zero, you made one mistake. One mistake, and I'm not sure it was even really a mistake, listening to Prince John, 'cause that's what you're trained to do, but it's just one mistake! Even though that mistake led to one thing and that lead to another thing and that lead to the Princess thinking' I was gonna marry her-" ("WHAT?!" yelled Captain.) "-it was still just ONE MISTAKE. And you know what happens when friends make one mistake? They forgive each other, they make up, and they go back to being friends. And we're never gonna get to do that if you stay or I stay or they go-" (He pointed to Captain and Baku.) "-or whatever, so I'm not leaving unless you're leaving, so there!"

And on "there", Shute launched himself back into Zero's chest and began sniffling into his shoulder, the bewildered crowd looking on.

"Woah..." Sorcerers Pierre turned to Sorcerer Maurice. "Deep."

Captain nodded strongly. "I agree."

Baku was once again surprised. "You're what?!"

Captain stepped out of the Magic Circle and joined Shute and Zero, pulling the Winged Knight to his feet. "Shute is right. We're friends, and friends forgive each other no matter what they do."

"But- but he- and then-"

But then Baku was lost in a pair of blue eyes, pleading and waiting for him to finally...

"Give up..." Baku raised his arms to the ceiling. "I give up, are you happy now?"

He walked forward and, grabbing one of Zero's shoulders, playfully shook him. "I forgive you."

"If we leave Lacroa, we leave together." Zero looked to all three of his friends. "Are you ready to go?"

"Hai!"

"Affirmative."

"Eh, whatever, my brain hurts now."

And FINALLY, after 3 chapters of emotional walls, the Gundam Force was finally reunited.

&&&

"Only 3 more years of living without your magic powers left, Johnny." King Davis waved to ex-Prince John, who was busy trying to feed a very fussy Mercury. "You'll be done for the day after you finish feeding Mercury... And clean out Camille's pen."

John sobbed miserably as he slammed his fist into a wall which just happened to be a part of the Spirit Tree. Unfortunately, he hit the crystal that had been inbedded in his wrist to prevent him from using magic, and that combined with the powers of the spirit tree-

SCHOLLOOPM!

&&&

Talgeese cracked his knuckles for the 49th time that day, bored out of his wits. "So, how long we been out here?"

"Couple of months," replied an equally bored Deathscythe. "Either that, or an hour."

"Figures."

Talgeese yawned again as the Sacred Griffin flew past in a panic, being chased by Fenn the Feather Dragon. Life was so DULL in the spaces between dimensions... It was insane

Suddenly, a portal opened up in the sky, and out of it flew Prince John!

"Look! Lacroa!" Talgeese shouted. "It's on the other side of the portal!"

Deathscythe squealed in ecstasy. "Hurry and get through it before someone else-"

And just like that, Fenn flew through the portal, roaring a roar that sounded suspiciously like "Zzeeeeeeeeeeerrrrroooooooooooo!"

"Does..."

"Aw, panty hose." Talgeese crossed his arms in anger as Prince John began floating in the empty void that was the space between dimensions. He found it odd that he was on no identifiable ground... All he did was float...

Talgeese extended his hand. "Talgeese, Knight of the Tempest, how ya doin'?"

FINALLY! DONE! DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE! NOTE TIME, AND THEN WE'RE FINISHED!

Man, I was I had planned this out better. There was supposed to be this cool subplot about how Davis went to search for Fenn, and how the sorcerers were beach bums, and how Prince John was really SHORT and that's why he floated all the time, but I couldn't fit it all in! But at least one good thing came out of it: This became less of a Shute story and more of a Zero fic, which I am proud of, 'cause personally I was beginning to feel a little pigeon-held, you know? Maybe next fic will be about Baku and his sisters... Either that or Captain. I'll have to see.

"Somebody to Love" by Queen. Beautiful song, EXTREMELY hard to put down on paper! You'll have to listen to it yourself, it's great, but it's complex.

Once again, the Japanese word bank grows. "Zero no Shiite" "Zero's my hero!", "Nakama" "comrad in arms", "Ryoukai" "Roger!", and that's all I remember.

The Lacroan people originally cast spells in Latin, but Alta Vista's Babelfish doesn't have a Latin-English translation option. It does have French, though...

A pox on the phony king of Lacroa!

Middle aged warg... He he he, proud of that one.

Hey, Cybertoy00! Sly's in here! I think... The chapter's too long, I hope I didn't delete him...

I know that actual knight actually started page-hood in their teens, but Zero's a Gundam, whatcha gonna do?

Done!


End file.
